Persona: New Generation
by Blitzshine
Summary: The group of Persona users who fought against a goddess many years ago now live peacefull lives with their families in the town that means so much to them. But when an ancient evil awakens, so does and ancient deity. Their power won't be enough to face it now. A new generation of Persona users is needed and their own sons and daughters will have to carry this burden.
1. Prologue

The Prologue has been edited because, since it was the first thing I wrote, it was so full of grammar error that I couldn't belive it... I also fixed a few things.

If you're just starting to read this, let me tell you that the first few chapters suck, but it gets better. This is my first project and because of that my skills when I started were horrible. I think I've improved over the course of time, but I still have a long way to go.

PS: This story is mosty centered on Original Characters, just so you know... If you want, give it a chance.

* * *

**Prologue.**

Dark clouds covered the sky and heavy rain was pouring down. Summer rain was an oddity, but not so much in a place like Inaba. Here it rained all year long. In a room, a single silhouette, sitting in front of a desk, was looking through the window… remembering.

The silhouette belonged to a man. He was tall, dressed in dark gray pants and a light grey shirt. Looking at his face, one could say he was on his late 30's, but the silver hair, often confused with the grey hair of an elder man, might make you think otherwise.

The room he was in was a small one. Inside it, there was only a bookcase, a desk with many drawers and a chair in front of it. On top of the desk, a lamp and a bunch of papers were decorating it. A single window, about half the height of the wall, could be seen at the left side of the desk. By the looks of it, this was just a simple office.

Having finished checking some documents, the man allowed himself to watch the rain and think.

_'It has been many years now... and yet, the memories are still fresh.'_ He thought with a small smile on his face. _'The rain always manages to bring them back.'_

Yes, is has been many years since 'those days'. Days of 'adventures', if you want to call them that, which he shared with his group of friends. Those days were full of danger, and when he thought about it... _'God, we were reckless'_ was all that crossed his mind, along with a big smile forming his face as he shook his head. He was relieved that they made it through. They had not only stayed alive, but also succeeded in their self-proclaimed mission.

But not everything was hardship and danger back then. Precious were the memories of the times at the beach with his friends, the skii trip they made to the mountains, simple school days and school-related events like the trip to Port-Island and even the school camp-

...

Forget that last part, that wasn't fun at all.

_'If I think hard, I can still taste that Mistery Food X'_. Not that he would try to remember, though. But even that memory was precious to him.

The noise of footsteps on the wooden floor woke him up from his thoughts. He looked at his wristwatch and by the time, had an idea of who was coming. There was a gentle knock on the door to which he answered:

"Yes, come in"

The door opened up and the figure of a beautiful woman dressed in a pink kimono appeared in front of him.

"Dear, dinner's ready. Are you done?" She spoke in a gentle voice.

Her long, black hair reached far below her shoulder, almost reaching her waist. He looked at her, and with his mind still remembering 'those days', he thought how much she had changed over the years, but also how much she was still the same. Her beautiful, slender figure hadn't changed much, and the grace with which she wears a kimono, no matter how many times he saw her, still surprised him. But even thinking that, she had obviously changed. The look of the innocent high school girl had been replaced with the look of a beautiful and strong woman, worthy of the manager of this traditional Inn. Yes, her name was Yukiko Amagi.

"Yeah, I finished here a while ago, I was just thinking..." He answered, still seating on the chair in front of his desk, but now facing towards the door.

The nostalgic look on his eyes told her exactly what he was thinking.

"Well, it is raining..." She looked out the window, then got closer to him to have a better view of his face and put a hand on his cheek. "Are you ok?" She asked with a look of small worry in her own eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just remembering the good times" He told her while smiling at her and taking the hand in his cheek in his own.

"You make it sound like these aren't good times" She teased, giggling lightly.

"You know that's not what I meant." He stood up. She was somewhat shorter than him, so she had to look up.

Now, he put both his hands in her cheeks and gave her a small kiss on the forehead, in a way of saying 'thank you for worrying about me'. Then, he gave her a teasing smile.

"Come on, it's dinner time and the kids will start wondering what's taking us so long"

"We are not 'kids' anymore, you know!" That voice came from the hallway, the voice of a girl.

"Well, speak of the devil..." Yukiko spoke in an amused/annoyed tone. "Why is it that you are two are always there when your father and I are having a moment?"

"Isn't that what children normally do? You know… ruin their parent's moments…" The somewhat bored voice came not from the girl, but from a boy this time, as they both appeared through the door.

The siblings were a couple of teens. They shared many facial features so they looked almost alike. They also shared similar height, with the girl being slightly taller, and seemed to be the same age. You would say they were twins, and guess what, you'd be right.

The man looked at his son and his daughter, then at Yukiko, who was now talking to the kids with her hands of her hips. He took a moment for himself while this happened.

Yes, he and Yukiko had gotten married many years ago. It had been many years since he had to change his last name to 'Amagi'. Not that he minded, of course. It was somewhat of a requirement for marrying the daughter of an important family.

Sometime after that, around a year and a half, Yukiko got pregnant. They were kinda surprised, but really happy nonetheless. When they found out they would be having twins, to say they were 'surprised' was an understatement. And now, in just a few days, it would be 17 years since they were born.

His daughter, Reiko Amagi, younger than her brother by 1 minute, had the silver hair of his father and just as long as her mother's but tied up in a ponytail. She also had her father's sharp, grey eyes. She was wearing her school summer uniform. The sailor uniform has remained the same as it was back then for Yasogami High.

His son, Haru Amagi, had black hair and in a bowl cut sort of style, like the one he used to have when he was younger and still used. He had his mother's grey eyes, but with a somewhat bored expression on them. Like his sister, he was wearing his school summer uniform, only the male version, of course… the classic gray pants and the white short-sleeved shirt.

He made himself snap out of his thoughts and started heading for the door, silently. When passing by the side of his wife and children, he noticed the odd looks they were giving him, looks that asked 'where are you going?' but he just walked past them.

Once out of the room, he started heading for the dining room and screamed to his back.

"You forgot about dinner? Last one to get there has to wash the dishes!"

And with that the siblings bolted from the small office in direction of the dining room at full speed.

Yukiko also exited the office but she did so more calmly. She looked at her husband and he just smiled at her in return.

"See, Yu? These are good times, too." Yukiko told him.

"I know." Yu smiled. "And I'm thankful for every single moment."

Together, they slowly started walking towards the dining room for another family dinner at their home, the Amagi Inn.

* * *

**A/N: **I'll tell you the pairings that will be in this Fic. YuxYukiko, YosukexChie, KanjixNaoto and some others that I can't say now because of spoilers.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N: **I'd like to note that my knowledge of Japanese culture is very limited, so when it comes down to stuff like what do they eat for breakfast and such... I have no idea, so I have to go with what I know, and that is my own culture... but please, if you know about this kind of stuff please let me know so I can make this fic more realistic. Thank you.

**EDIT:** I have edited this chapter to fix many grammatical errors (there were lots). Also, I don't fully understand how the Japanese education system works. I used to think there were four years of highschool, but apparently it's only three. Because of that I had to make a change with one of the characters. Sorry for the inconvenience.

* * *

I woke up a little earlier than usual. 6:30... I usually wake up at 6:45 so I don't have to hurry to school, but I hate waking up before my alarm clock. Since I was already awake I got up from the futon, exited my room and headed towards the bathroom.

Once there I took a quick piss then went to wash my hands and face at the sink. I looked at my face in the mirror like every morning. The same sleepy and bored expression, the same as every time I wake up, was present on my face, but I looked a bit angrier than usual... damn those 15 minutes of sleep I didn't get. Black hair long enough to cover my ears but not my eyes in a bowl-cut sort-of style. I didn't have my hair cut like this, it's just the way it grows and I don't want to change it. Gray eyes were staring at me from the mirror as I stared back.

I took a quick shower and dried myself up with a towel, wrapped it around my waist and headed to my room once again. I did this because I knew no one else was awake at this hour. Even on days I wake up at my usual time, I'm the first one to wake up in the family, except sometimes Dad wakes up earlier that me 'cause he has to go somewhere.

I dressed up in my Yasogami High uniform. The white, short sleeved shirt and gray pants, since it's summer. Once I was ready I got out of my room and went to the kitchen. Mom and Dad are too busy during the day, and since I woke up so early I decided to start making breakfast to save them some trouble.

But when I got there I was surprised to see Dad already awake and fully dressed in a thin, dark gray jacket, a white shirt and blue jeans. He was already preparing breakfast so I started helping him.

"Ah, Haru, good morning... you are up early" he greeted me.

"Good morning Dad... I woke up before the alarm clock"

"Ouch, I see... sorry to hear that" He said laughing lightly but understandingly. Yeah, Dad is like me, he hates waking up before his alarm clock... or I'm like him? meh, doesn't matter.

"You are up early too... are you going somewhere?" I asked, though I think I already knew.

"Yeah, I am" Told you. "It's an old friend who just came back to Japan with his family, they are living in Kofu right now, but we're meeting at Okina City to discuss some stuff"

"I see." I said, while cutting some bread and giving it to dad, who was putting something between them and making them a sandwich, I didn't see what it was. "Mom didn't wake up with you?"

"She did, but I told her she should sleep a little more" Yeah, Mom it's not like us, she can go back to sleep if she wants once she wakes up. Last night there was a slight problem at the Inn... some people got drunk and started yelling they wanted to party all night, and doing so disturbed everyone else staying here. Mom and Dad tried to calm them down. I don't know the details but they succeeded. Nevertheless, they stayed up until late night, so Mom must be real tired.

"Ok, we are done. There's orange juice in the fridge. I have to go now, see you tonight" he told me as he put his hand in my head and messed with my hair. "Tell your sister I say goodbye, too"

"Sure, take care, Dad" I answered. And with that, he left. I heard the car leaving and getting further and further away.

I took my phone to see the time. '7:08 AM... is she not awake yet? If she doesn't wake up soon I'll have to leave without her...' Well, that's what I thought but... I can't really leave her behind. Sighing, I went to her room, which is right in front of mine. I stood in front of her door thinking of a way to wake her up... and all things considered I went with the easy way.

I knocked the door once, but loud enough for her to hear and yelled "SIS, IT'S 7:10 ALREADY, WAKE UP!"

10 seconds passed ultil I saw the door suddenly open and a girl, with long, silver hair and dressed in a white, sleeveless blouse and white trousers as pajamas, bolting out of the room in direction to the bathroom. Knowing she's going to take some time I went to the kitchen again to eat the breakfast Dad and I made. Turns out the sandwiches had lettuce, tomato and ham.

After 15 minutes she was done. In front of me was my twin sister, Reiko Amagi. Now fully dressed, in the summer uniform for girls.

"Good morning Brother!" she greeted me cheerfully.

"Good morning sleepy head..." I replied in a somewhat annoyed tone, then I handed her own sandwich. "Here, Dad made it. Eat it on the way or we'll be late. Oh, and he had to go to Okina today, he says he'll be home tonight"

Now thinking about it, maybe Dad knew Sis would be late and that's why he made sandwiches... 'one step ahead like always' I thought with a slight smile.

"Ok, then let's get going!"

"Don't you two dare to leave without saying goodbye to your mother" There, right in the door of the kitchen, was our mother, looking at us with a smile. She was already dressed in her pink kimono and looked ready to start the day.

"Sorry Mom... but Dad said you were still sleeping" I told her.

"Well, yes, but just for a few minutes. I'm not going to let laziness take over me" She said proudly. Yep, that's our hardworking mother right there.

"Well, we better leave or we're gonna be late. Come on, brother!" oh, now she's on a rush.

We said goodbye to Mom and before we left I remembered "Hey Mom, Dad left breakfast for you too, it's in the counter!"

I think I saw her smile when I told her... a nostalgic kind of smile. I could be wrong, I'm not very good at reading facial expressions, plus Dad made breakfast yesterday too, so why would she feel nostalgic?

To exited the house we had to cross through the inn's main building to get to the road. We greeted the Inn's staff that was already cleaning and they greeted us back. We exited the Inn through the main entrance and headed towards school.

'It's 7:32' I thought when I looked at my phone again. It takes us around 25 minutes to reach the school walking, less if we hurry up but there is no need for that today since classes start at 8:10 AM.

Upon being close to reach school grounds we bumped into a familiar face... or it'd be best to say this familiar face bumped into ME.

While walking, we heard an all too familiar voice behind us calling our names.

"REIKOOOO! HARUUUUU! WAIIIT!"

We both stopped and turned around. What we saw was the figure of a young man, around our age running at full speed toward us... or towards me to be precise. Since he was going at full speed, once he close enough he couldn't stop, and when he tried he tripped and crashed with me, bringing us both to the ground.

"Argh...! Damn it Ryu, what the hell...!?" I yelled at the boy that was now horizontally on top of me. "Oh, get off of me!"

"Ooouch" He groaned, apparently not liking how the asphalt felt. Well too bad.

I pushed him aside and got up from the ground to see Reiko laughing at us. I looked down to see him, a sophomore at Yasogami High, my kouhai and our childhood friend, Ryu Hanamura.

I gave a sigh and I told Sis to help me bring him up, not because I need her help, but because she laughed at us.

Ryu had short, brown, spiky hair and small eyes also brown. He's a little taller than Sis, and therefore, taller than me. He was, of course, dressed in his school uniform.

"Sorry man, it's hard to stop when you're running at top speed, hehe" Ryu laughed.

"Geez, why were you running, anyway? There's still some time before classes start" Asked my sister.

"I was just using the time to train, like always!" He told us proudly. "And I didn't think you guys would stop, you never do that!"

"True, but this time you said 'wait'" I commented.

Reiko sighed. "You and your training... take a break once in a while!" It's true, Ryu is always training, one way or another, physically or mentally. As a result of his physical training he is well built and his mental training was to prepare his body for the huge amount of exercise... or so he says. I actually train with him once in a while, but he's more dedicated that I am.

"Besides, if you run like that you're gonna end up sweating and smelling and..." She got close to him and smelled him. "eww! You Stink!"

"Really?" He smelled his own armpit. "Well then, let hurry so I can wash in the bathroom before classes begin! Come on!"

Sis and I sighed together and started making our way to school once again, and now Ryu was coming along with us.

He doesn't use honorifics when talking to us, even though we are his sempai. That's because he's known us since he was born so he's almost like another sibling. His parents and ours know each other since their own highschool days, here at Yasogami.

Nearing the school gates we saw two girls talking to each other. One of them noticed us and made a run toward... me? Yeah, me.

"SEMPAI!" The girl hugged me tightly.

God, not again... urgh, I think I'm gonna break!

"Let him go Kaori, you know he doesn't like that" YES! Ryu to the rescue!

"He likes it! If not, then why doesn't he tell me to stop?" Said Kaori.

"Let's see, first: probably 'cause he can barely breathe" Ryu gave his answer "And second, you know he won't tell you 'get away from me!'... he's too polite."

Hearing this, Kaori let go of me. 'Phew... air! Why does she do this? Does she hate me?'

"Good morning, Haru-sempai, Reiko-sempai, Ryu-san" Greeted the second girl a little behind Kaori.

"'Morning!" Ryu greeted back.

I lifted my hand, indicating I heard her and greeting back.

"Good morning Yui-chan!" it was now Sis's time to greet back.

Why is everyone in high spirits today...? no, wait, it's me. I'm the one who's grumpy. Damn those fifteen minutes of sleep that I didn't get

Now, in front of us were two girls, two more childhood friends of ours. Kaori Kujikawa and Yui Tatsumi, both first years, like Ryu.

Kaori wore her blond hair shaggy, with draping bangs and a ponytail that rested on her shoulders. She had a thin figure and was just as tall as me.

Yui was a small girl when compared to all of us, but her shoulder length, straight, navy blue hair and facial expressions made her look very mature, even though she's the youngest of us all.

We heard the bell ring and hurried to our respective classrooms.

* * *

Classes were done for the day, and I was preparing to leave.

"You going home now?" I asked Sis.

"No, you know I have drama club today, and as the club leader I can't miss a day."

"I know, just checking. See you at home"

"See ya, take care!"

As I was making my way to the room's exit, I was stopped by Ryu.

"Hey, you coming to practice today?" he asked me.

Right, basketball practice today... But I don't feel like going. I looked at my friend and sighed.

"Sure... let's go"

"Yeah! Come on, hurry up!"

On our way there, Ryu asked me something.

"Oh, right! how's everything for tomorrow?"

'Uh? Let's see, tomorrow's Sunday... June 23rd... oh' I remembered.

"It's all fine, just get there at six, and... get there clean" I answered.

"Ok, you got it" he said grinning.

Tomorrow... June 23rd. That's the day Sis and I were born, 17 years ago.

* * *

When practice was over we went home, and parted ways near the shopping district. We had a small game which Ryu and I won. I know Sis teases him a lot for training so much, but god, it gives him good results. The guy's a beast!

I was walking through the flood plains of Somegawa River, and then I felt a sharp pain in my head and fell on my knees to the ground. I grabbed my head tightly and shut my eyes involuntarily from the pain and for less than a second I think I saw a blue butterfly. Just then, my eyes opened widely and I felt the pain faded away.

'What The Hell Was That...!' I was breathing heavily. Standing up I decided to let it go, and just head home. 'I must be more tired than I thought...'

* * *

Dinner was normal, like always. Light conversation between Mom, Dad, Sis and I... but Reiko looked weird. She looked worried, so I decided to talk to her about it later.

"...so yeah, it's going to take a while before I can convince him." Dad said to Mom.

"It would be no trouble to let them stay here for some time..." Replied Mom. "But I'm surprised, there is one person whom you can't convince" She giggled.

"You know we are too much alike... but he's more stubborn than me"

I didn't know what they were talking about, but I didn't care. I was more worried about my sister. 'she has barely touched her food'.

"Are you ok, Reiko?" Dad saw this too.

"Uh? oh, yeah I'm fine! I was just thinking about something that happened at drama club today, It's nothing, really"

'Liar' I said to myself.

When dinner was over, Reiko excused herself and went to her room, saying she didn't feel very well. I followed her.

She was already inside her room, so I knocked. "Sis, open up".

"I'm fine Brother, I just want to sleep. Good night" She said from inside her room.

"Reiko... Open The Door" I told her with a firm voice.

A few seconds of silence passed until I heard the door being opened. Reiko was there now in her pajamas.

"Tell me what happened, Reiko" I stood there looking at her.

"...Really, nothing happened. I was just coming home and felt dizzy all of a sudden, that's all" She's telling the truth. It's not that I can see whether people are lying or not, but I know when my sister is telling the truth or if she's lying and she can see the same in me.

"I see. Then rest as much as you can. It' wouldn't be funny if you get sick tomorrow"

"hehe, I know. You rest too. Good night, Brother"

"Good night, Sis"

And with that, I went to my room, changed to my sleepwear (boxers and a white T-shirt) and then to bed.

I felt my consciousness slowly fading away until I was fully asleep. But all of a sudden, it came back to me and felt wide awake... But I wasn't in my room anymore.

I was in what seemed to be just a black and white floor... floating in nothingness... surrounded by complete darkness.

This has to be a dream... right?

I looked around and saw someone. A tall man, probably an adult. He was wearing a white suit and in his face, a mask... half plain white, half butterfly-like, mask.

"Welcome, my name is Philemon. I live between the world of consciousness and unconsciousness. Now tell me, who are you?"

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, this is the first chapter. I don't really have much to say here, just one thing. I took Kaori from an unused concept art for Rise Kujikawa, so check it if you what to know in more detail what she looks like. I suck at describing stuff, so expect just a few hints for the characters, clothes, etc. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

EDIT: So, the change was that I made Yui a year older than she used to be, so now she's in the same grade as Ryu and Kaori.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Slowly I opened my eyes as I woke up but my vision was blocked by my long, silver hair.

I saw the time in the alarm clock. It's 9:46 AM now, so I got up from the futon and went to the desk in my room. In front of it there's a large mirror which I use to fix myself up in the morning. I took the hair-brush, looked at myself in the mirror, and started brushing.

I love my hair. I wear it long, like Mom, but tied in a ponytail, and it's silver, like Dad's hair. I feel like it connects me to them. I know it's silly, but I like to think that way.

The thought of Dad made me remember the weird dream I had last night... or, was it a dream? It felt so real.

* * *

_"Welcome, my name is Philemon, I live between the world of consciousness and unconsciousness. Now tell me, who are you?" The man in a white suit and butterfly mask spoke._

_"I-I'm Reiko Amagi" Responded the girl._

_"Impressive, not many remember their own identity once they arrive here, yet you clearly stated your name, meaning you know who you really are" Philemon continued. "Humans live behind many masks"_

_"M-masks...?" asked Reiko._

_"Yes, Have you noticed how you act differently at certain times? Sometimes nice, sometimes indifferent, or sometimes angry. The power to call upon these masks it's called Persona... power I bestow upon you"_

_With his index finger, he touched the girl's forehead and some sort of light covered her before fading._

_"What the..." It's all Reiko could say. She didn't understand what was happening._

_"I wish I didn't have to give you this power, but humanity will need it to face the next ordeal. Your father's power, even combined with another Wild Card, won't be enough this time"_

_"W-what!? What's a 'Wild Card'? What does my father had to do with anything!?"_

_"You will find out when the time comes. For now, it's time you return to your world... the world that's locked between time and space" _

* * *

'What the hell was that dream? Philemon, Persona... and why did he mention Dad!?'

I decided to forget about it, it was just a dream. Besides today there is no time to worry about trivialities. I smiled with excitement. Today, Brother and I turn 17 years old.

Today, our friends are coming to have a small celebration. Ryu, Kaori and Yui along with their parents, who took the chance to come and visit.

Once I was done with my hair I got dressed. A sky-blue shirt and white pants.

I was a little late for breakfast, but they would forgive me today... right?

When I got out of my room I saw my brother exiting his own. He was wearing a plain red T-shirt and black short trousers.

"Oh, you're just waking up? You usually wake up at nine" I said to him.

"Yeah... I overslept" He yawned. "I was more tired than I thought, plus I had a weird dream..."

"Really...? I did too! What was your dream about?"

"I don't want to think about it... you?"

"If you don't tell me yours I won't tell you mine" I said, trying to negotiate with him.

"Fair enough" And he left toward the kitchen without another word. That's just like him. If you don't what to tell him something he won't pressure you unless he thinks it's important.

"Hey! aren't you forgetting something!?"

He stopped and looked back to me.

"Uh... I don't think so..."

"Why you...!" I was starting to get mad.

"Ok, ok, I get it" he walked in my direction and hugged me. "Happy birthday, Sis"

I hugged him back, tightly. "You're an idiot, you know that!? Happy birthday, Brother"

After a brief moment he broke the hug.

"Come on, Let's go. I'm hungry" He told me.

"Alright"

When we got to the Kitchen, Mom and Dad there. They had already finished making a big breakfast for us! They saw us and smiled.

"Happy birthday!" They both said. Mom ran to us and hugged us.

"I can't believe you two are 17 already! I'm starting to feel old!" Mom said.

"Really? I still feel young" Dad said. "Don't let the years catch up to you"

"Forty-three it's pretty old, Dad" I teased.

"That might be true, but he's still in good shape. Have you ever played basketball with him?" Brother said.

"Ok everyone, either we stop here or the food's gonna get cold"

"Yes, Mom" Brother and I quickly took our seats and after waiting for our parents to do the same, we all started eating.

* * *

The day went by with the members of the Inn's staff wishing us happy birthday.

When we realized it, it was already six o'clock. Now's the time for the guest to arrive.

It's not like we are doing anything big. We'll just have a nice dinner with everyone, like every year for every birthday. But that doesn't make it any less special.

Mom, Brother and I were arranging one of the big room's in the Inn where we'd be having dinner when one of the waitresses informed us that the Hanamura family had arrived.

"Please, let them in, we're done here" Mom said to the waitress.

"Yes, Amagi-san" With that, the waitress left, then came back with the Hanamura family following her.

"Hey, where are the birthday kids?" Said the man in a navy blue suit. He had semi-long, mahogany hair.

"Here we are uncle Yosuke!" I answered.

"And why are you wearing a suit?" Brother asked.

"Haha, sorry I just got off of a meeting, so I had no time to change"

"A meeting... on Sunday?" It was Mom who asked this time.

"Yeah, some business people from U.S.A leave tomorrow, so they had to schedule it for today" This time his wife answered for him. She was wearing a one piece, yellow dress. Her hair was light brown and short.

Aunt Chie and Uncle Yosuke are Ryu's parents. While we are not related by blood, we got used to refer to our friends parents as Uncle and Aunt. They're all pretty much family, anyway.

"So? how does it feel to be seventeen years old?" Ryu, who was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, asked

"Meh..." My brother shrugged.

"Hey, you shouldn't say that!" Mom scolded.

"Yeah, listen to your mother. You should use the time you have now, or you'll end up regretting it" Uncle Yosuke said.

"I know I won't be living those years again" Aunt Chie continued "Ah, those were the days..."

"Yeah... but there is nothing I regret from those days" Said Mom.

"You all sound like old people right now, you know?" Ryu intervened.

"Yeah, you do" Brother agreed

"Well, they were talking about feeling old this morning..." I agreed too.

"Hey, don't go calling us old!" Said uncle Yosuke. "Oh, now that I think about it, where's Yu?"

"He's in the kitchen, he should be here soon" Mom told him.

"You want me to go get him?" I asked her.

"No need, I'm here" Dad said, entering the room. "And I brought people with me"

Behind him there were several more people. First I saw Kaori. She came running and hugged me and Brother at the same time.

"Happy birthday, you two!" She said happily.

"Aww, thank you" I said.

"Thanks" Replied Brother.

Now I saw Yui walking towards us. She also wished us a happy birthday. Behind her were her parents, uncle Kanji and aunt Naoto. I looked at aunt Naoto then back at Yui, they are very alike and have the same hair, blue, unlike uncle Kanji's hair, which is black. I once saw a picture of him with bleached-blonde hair. He looked funny.

Beside them was aunt Rise, Kaori's mother. I can't help it, but every time I see aunt Rise and Kaori together I wonder who Kaori's father is... since her hair is blonde and her mother's hair is reddish-brown. I know she also wants to know. There was a time when we thought it was uncle Ted... then again, we were around 6 years old and when we asked about it they completely denied it.

Speaking of uncle Ted, there he was, too. With his natural blonde hair and blue eyes, can you blame us for thinking as we did at the time?

"Ok, since dinner's ready and everyone's here, why don't we all sit down and eat?" Dad suggested.

Everyone agreed and we began eating and having light conversation. The adults were talking about a friend of them that was having trouble. Apparently one of the higher-ups in his company made some sort of big mistake and the company went bankrupt. Poor guy...

Meanwhile, between us highschool students, we were having our own conversation.

"Hey, do you guys remember that thing we were talking about last month" said Yui.

"We talked about a lot of things last month, Yui..." replied Brother.

"Well, yes, but that 'thing' we all said we'd try to look for" She said again.

"Let's see..." I said out loud, but thinking to myself "We said we'd look for... Wait!" It hit me. "You didn't, did you? did you find it!?"

"Find what?" Brother and Ryu asked at the same time.

"Yep, I did. And I have it with me right now!" Yui said, excitement clear in her voice.

"Wait, what do you have with you...? I don't follow..." Asked Kaori.

"I have... An original Sony Playstation 2 with a few games right here in my backpack!" Yui said proudly, showing us her blue backpack.

"WHAT!?" We all yelled in unison, which gave us weird looks from our parents, but right now, we didn't care. We are all gamers, we love to play videogames and collecting old consoles and games has become our shared hobby.

"Y-you found it!? How!?" Brother asked.

"Well, I searched a lot and found this guy selling it from somewhere in Europe. I checked the sources and found it to be legitimate and trustworthy, so I bought it. It took a couple of weeks and arrived here yesterday"

"Ok, so how much do we owe you?" Kaori asked. Of course, being a shared hobby, we also share expenses. And this must've cost quite a lot.

"We can talk about that later. There is one problem with the console, however..."

"Oh no, which is...?" Ryu asked, worried.

"We need some sort of older TV model to use it... the new ones aren't compatible"

'Oh damn...' I thought.

"Wait..." Brother said in a low tone. "I think... Hey Dad!"

"Yes, Haru?" Dad responded.

"Didn't you have an old TV in the house's storage?"

"Yes I do" He said.

"Can we please use it? or see if it works?"

"What? Why?"

"Yui found an old Playstation 2 and we what to try it" I answered.

"Oh, the PS2" Aunt Naoto said "If it's a TV from at least 2016, it should work fine"

"It from 2011, actually" Dad said. Wow, it's old.

"Then I guess it could work, though the condition of the TV itself is another thing to consider" She said again.

"Can we try it? Please!?" I asked.

I think I saw dad hesitating for a while until he answered. "...fine, but be carefull with it!"

"Yes! Thank you Dad!" I ran to him and gave him a big hug.

"Thanks Dad!" Brother said, excited. Not something you see a lot, but can you blame him?

Since we had finished eating, we stood up and went to the storage in the back. Before we left I heard uncle Yosuke say something.

"Hey, is it THAT TV?"

"Yeah..." Dad said.

* * *

Now in the storage, we started looking for the TV. It was dark since there was no lighting in the room.

"Found it!" Ryu yelled to us.

It was behind some boxes. We moved them so we could see it better. It was a big, black, flat-screen TV.

"Yui, can we use this?" Ryu asked.

"Let me see if it has the correct ports" Then, Yui went back the TV and began checking. "Yes, there is no problem with it"

Suddenly, the TV flashed white of a second. Everyone but Yui saw it, since she was behind the TV.

"WHAT THE...! Yui, What Did You Do!?" Kaori asked scared.

"Uh? nothing, why?"

"THE TV JUST FLASHED!" Ryu said, agitated. I wasn't much better.

"I-is it c-connected to the electric current...?" I asked, nervously.

"No..." Yui responded.

"Calm down, maybe and internal battery?" Brother tried to be reasonable.

"No, this model is too old, it doesn't have one"

Then, the TV flashed again, scaring us all, but my brother.

"What the hell..." He said while he got closer to the TV.

"Wait..! Brother..." I tried to stop him. This was Dad's old TV, so I doubt it's dangerous. But what is that? I have a bad feeling.

"Hey, Haru-sempai... I don't think you should..." Yui tried too.

"Sempai, please don't. It could be dangerous..." And Kaori.

But he didn't listen to us and moved forward to check it himself. he's always had a weird sense of curiosity... some things grab his attention while other similar ones don't. This, apparently, did.

When he was close to the TV, I instinctively moved closer too. Yes, I have a bad feeling, but he's my brother, my twin. We are a team, and there is no way I'll leave him alone if I think something bad is going to happen.

He looked closely at the TV. Inspecting it, like looking for something.

"It couldn't have reflected any outside light, since..." When he was about to touch the screen, a third flash happened, and something came out of it! Some sort of weird black hand that grabbed Brother's own hand and pulled it... Inside The TV!?

"WHAT!?" We all yelled. We couldn't believe what we were seeing! I mean, his hand was literally INSIDE the TV, and his whole body was also being pulled inside too!

"HARU!" Ryu yelled. He came close to us and tried to pull Brother away from the TV. I started helping too. We pulled with all we had, but he wouldn't budge, so Kaori and Yui tried to help too, but with no success.

All of a sudden, the black hand pulled with much more strength, pulling us all with it. I felt I was entering some sort of pool full of water and then falling a great distance until hitting the ground. Then I fell unconscious.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: **I forgot to do something on the previous chapters so might as well do it now.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei: Persona or anything besides the original characters.**

**PS:** You might want to hear 'I'll Face Myself -Battle-' in this chapter, you'll know when.

* * *

Haru opened his eyes and stood up from the ground. His head hurt. He looked around him, and realised he wasn't in the storage anymore.

"Where am I..." He asked to no one in particular. "Wait... Sis!" He remembered he saw his sister, Reiko, falling with him through some sort of weird back and white vortex.

Desperately, he looked arround to see where his sister was. He didn't care where he was now, he cared where his sister was. Who he found was not Reiko, but another familiar face.

"Ryu!" He yelled and ran to him. Ryu was lying on the ground, unconscious. "Hey, come on man, wake up! I need your help!"

"Urgh... Damn, my head hurts... Haru? What the hell happened?" Ryu woke up and asked, confused.

"There is no time for that, Reiko fell with us and I don't know where she is! Help me find her!"

"Reiko's missing!? What are we waiting for then, come on!" He stood up and they began the search again. Moments later, Haru found her on the ground and unconscious, just like Ryu.

"Sis!" He ran to her and took her in his arms. "Hey, Sis, wake up. Now's not the time for a nap" He said, his tone calmer now.

"Is she ok?" Ryu asked concerned.

"Yeah, she must've hit her head too..." He checked her head. There was no serious damage.

Then, Reiko woke up and found herself in her brother's arms.

"Brother... You're ok" She said.

"Yeah, and looks like you are too. Can you stand?"

"I-I think so..." With her brother's and Ryu's help she stood up. "Ryu, you are in here too?"

"Apparently... Whatever 'In here' is..." He answered.

Now they took the time to look arround them and wander about what had just happened.

"What's going on? what is this place? what happened? How did we get here? Are we the only ones here?" Were the questions Reiko was asking.

"Calm down, let's go one by one on this questions" Haru said.

"Ok then, first. What the hell happened?" Asked Ryu.

"We were in the house's storage, looking at the old TV... when something grabed my hand and pulled us... through the TV" Haru responded.

"That brings us to the next question. Where are we?" Said Reiko.

"It seem we are... Inside the TV"

"There doesn't seems to be any other answer, I mean, look a this place!" Ryu pointed to the place they were in.

This place resembled some sort of TV studio, but much creepier. On the ground were marked silhouettes of people. Like those the police leave when they remove a dead body from a crime scene.

"Okay, next. Are we the only ones here? I mean, Kaori and Yui were there with us, so they also could have..."

"No, they didn't fall" Responded Haru.

"How do you know?" Ryu wanted to know.

"When we were falling I kept my eyes opened and only saw us three. What I'm worried about is... someone, or something, pulled us in here. Why?"

"..."

They all stayed silent. 'Why?' That simple question made them froze.

"Look, we should search of a way out of here" Reiko suggested.

"I'd like to agree, but..." As Haru looked up, Ryu and Reiko did too. "I don't even see how we got here"

"Maybe there's an exit in some other place, there has to be" Ryu said. "Besides, it won't do any good if we just stay here"

"I guess you're right. Ok then, let's move" Haru told them, and the three started walking.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the house's storage, Kaori and Yui were confused, scared and without a clue of what to do.

"Kaori, what are we gonna do!?" Asked the scared Yui.

"I-I don't know! The got sucked by a TV!" Kaori responded, frantically. "Haru-sempai..."

"M-maybe we should tell our parents? I mean, they know this TV better than us..."

"There's no way they're gonna believe us! B-but we have to do something...! Alright, let's go tell them!"

They ran toward the Inn as fast as they could. When they got to the room where the adults were talking, Kaori screamed.

"HARU-SEMPAI, REIKO-SEMPAI AND RYU GOT SUCK BY THE TV!"

"It's true!" Confirmed Yui.

Silence.

"WHAT!?" Everyone asked.

"Kaori, what did you say!?" Rise asked her daugther.

"They got suck by the TV!" She said again.

"We were looking at the old TV, when sudently it began flashing. Haru-sempai went to check it but a weird back hand grabbed him and pulled him, along with Reiko-sempai and Ryu-sempai, inside the TV, like if the TV screen was made of water!" Yui told them the story.

"Please, believe us! We have no idea of what to do!"

Hearing these words, all the adults froze for a few seconds. Yu finally broke the silence.

"Alright, we believe you. We have no time to lose" He said, then looked at the rest of his friends. They had gone through this before, but now his own two children were involved. "Guys... we're going in!"

"Understood" They all answered, no doubt in their voices.

"Of course we're going in!" Chie said, angry. "I'm not gonna let anyone put a single finger on my boy!"

Kaori and Yui could only stare and wonder at how easy it was to convince them.

They all headed to the house's storage and stopped right in front of the TV. Then, Yu spoke.

"Alright, this is what we're gonna do!" He said with leading tone in his voice. "If something really pulled them in, then there's no guarantee that it can't happen again. Kanji, Naoto. I'm gonna need you two to stay here and look after Kaori and Yui, they could also be in danger"

"Sure" Said Kanji. "Understood" Answered Naoto.

The two highschool girls didn't understand what was happening, but stayed silent.

"Kaori, Yui" Yu spoke again. "Don't tell anybody else about this, ok?" While his voice sounded calm, the girls could see he was dead serious.

"We promise, we won't tell..." They both agreed.

"Good. Now, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko are with me on the front line, Rise will provide back up support, with Ted protecting her, plus, we'll need you to provide an exit"

"Right!" The rest replied.

"Then let's go!" With those last words, Yu faced the TV and slowly, but confidently put his hand in the TV, then his whole body.

The two girls stared in astonished as he did this and saw the rest do the same. Within a few moments, only Kanji, Naoto, and them were left in the storage.

* * *

At that very moment, Haru, Reiko and Ryu were walking through a place that looked familiar to them.

"Is this... The Shopping District!?" Asked Reiko.

"I don't know... it looks like it, but it's diferent somehow" Replied Ryu.

"Yeah, it's the Shopping District alright, but as it was years ago" Haru told them.

"How would you know?" Ryu asked.

"I saw a picture in Dad's photo album, thats how"

"Oh..."

They kept walking, and as they did, they also kept seeing those weird, human shaped shadows. When they first saw them, they got scared. Later, they realised they weren't aggressive, but not could they talk to them.

After what seemed like hours of walking to them, they arrived at another place which they recognised as their school, but it was an older version, just like the Shopping District.

"The school...? What is it doing here? Is this 'world' an older version of Inaba, or something" Ryu asked.

"From what we've seen so far I'd say it is but..." Said Ryu.

"... but the ways we've walked isn't nearly close to the real Inaba" Reiko continued for him.

"Exactly. Even if this really is an older Inaba, there is no way it has changed this much. I mean, to get to the school we have to walk through the Somegawa Flood plains, not the shopping District"

"Yeah, you're right... Anyway, why don't we go in?" Ryu suggested.

They toured the old school for a while. Looking at the classrooms and comparing it to the new school.

"So this is the school our parent went to..." Said Reiko.

"Hey, I wanna see the old soccer field!" Ryu told them, and left running.

"Ryu, we should be looking for an exit-! Damn it, wait for us!" Reiko yelled as he went further and further away from them.

They ran after him, but took them a bit to catch up, since Reiko wasn't too good at running. Once they did catch up to Ryu, they found him standing still in the midle of the soccer field.

"Ryu...? What's wrong-?" Reiko asked, concerned, but was interrumped by some weird voices.

_"Hey, you know Ryu Hanamura?"_ Said a voice out of nowhere.

"Huh!?" The three teenagers heard that, and were confused.

_"Oh, that guy in the basketball team?"_ Said another voice.

_"Yeah, they say he's a genius at sport. He can play anything and better that anyone else!"_

_"Is he THAT good"_

_"haven't you heard? It was because of him that the basketball team won their first tournament in years, plus he subbed for the soccer team and track team and got the MVP award (Most Valued Player) in both!"_

_"Seriously? What a beast!"_

_"Yeah, I don't think there's anyone in Inaba that can beat him"_

_"I bet he'll be going abroad with some sort of scholarship to go play with some big team"_

The voices where starting to fade, and Ryu was paralised

"I-I... I'm..." the tried to say something but was interrupted.

_"Yeah, that's right! I'm the best, aren't!?" _A voice said. It sounded all too familiar.

The three started looking everywhere, searching for the source of the voice that was just like Ryu's. And they found it. Right in front of Ryu was a another person that looked and sounded just like him. The only diference were the creepy, yellow eyes.

"What the...!?" Haru was astonished.

"A-another Ryu...!?" And so was Reiko.

"W-wha-?" That was all Ryu could say.

_"They said it, didn't they?" _The yellow-eyed Ryu continued. _"I'm the best, it doesn't matter if it's basketball, soccer, track, even swimming! I. AM. THE. BEST! But what was that about going abroad? Play with some big team? Ha! with would I?"_

"Huh?" Normal Ryu seemed confused.

_"Why would I want to leave Inaba? Here I am the best! Number one! No one here can beat me! My greatest dream has already been accomplished!"_

"What!? No, that's not true! I still-" Ryu tried to say.

_"You still have yet to acomplish it? Haha, that's bullshit and you know it!" The other Ryu interrupted. "Is your real dream to be the best? or is it just to be __**recognized **__as the best? As long as everyone thinks that way, I don't care if it's true or not"_

"Shut up! What would you know!? Who the hell are you!? Why do you look like me!?"

_"Haven't you realised by now? I am you, __**your Shadow**__, and you are me. I know every little thing about you"_

"Ryu-" Haru tried to speak to him.

"Shut up, Haru! What he's saying is not true! I don't think like that! Not Ever! So there is no way that thing is me!" Ryu screamed. Then he turned to his 'Shadow'. "Did you hear me!? YOU ARE NOT ME!"

_"Hahahaha!" _The 'Shadow' laughed maniacally. _"That's right! That's perfect!I'm not you anymore, see!? I am me now!"_

A dark mass of energy began to surround Shadow Ryu. Then, the mass of energy faded away, revealing something completly diferent.

The three teenagers whatched in horror as the figure of a demonic horse and his rider appeard before them. The black horse whinnied and the rider in black and green armor, with a lance as a weapon, spoke.

_"I am Shadow, __**the **__**true self! **__I'll destroy everyone inferior to me!"_

"What the fuck..." Ryu managed to say, then he passed out.

"RYU!" Reiko called for him, but it was already too late. He was unconscious. "Damn it! Brother, what are we gonna do!?"

"Damn it! This is my fault!" He yelled at himself "But I'm not backing down! It's time to fix this!"

"Brother... Right! I'm with you! But how can we fight that thing!?"

_**Thou has the power to fight...**_

"!?" Haru and Reiko heard something. Each inside their own mind.

_**The time has come... Open thy mind and call forth my power... thy power!**_

The twins glanced at each other, and the look on their faces said they knew what to do now.

They both stood there, gazing down, and Shadow Ryu charged at them.

_"AAAAARG!" _It screamed.

Two blue cards were falling from the sky, one in front of each sibling. Then, they both lifted their sight. Haru lifted his right hand, Reiko her left hand and at the same time they screamed:

"PERSONA!"

They crushed their cards, and both shattered like glass. Two figures were summoned from within their minds.

One, a male knight in red and white armor. His head and face covered by a white mask. His weapon, a silver sword.

The other, a female knight in white and blue, female styled armor, which resembled more a combat dress. Her head and face were also covered by a white mask, but you could see some of her blond hair. Her weapon was, too, a silver sword.

Both Knights charged forward against the Shadow, skillfully swinging their swords at it, forcing it to step back.

_**"I am thou... and thou art I...**_ _**From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Arthur, Son of the Dragon" **_Spoke the male knight.

_**"I am thou... and thou art I... From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Arthuria, Daughter of the Dragon" **_Said the female knight.

_"Who the hell are you!? 'Son of the Dragon' my ass! get out of my way!" _The Shadow charged again with all his might, this time at the red knight.

"ARTHUR!" Haru screamed as if giving his Persona an order.

Arthur blocked the Shadow's lance but was in no position to counter-attack.

"Sis! do it!" He told his sister.

"Yes!" Reiko agreed. "ARTHURIA! GO!"

The female knight swung her sword, cutting across the horse's body, bringing his rider to the ground.

_"DAMN IT! I WON'T BE DEFEATED! I AM THE BEST!" _Shadow Ryu stood up from the ground. He lifted his lance to the sky, then he pointed it to the knights. _**"Magaru"**_

A gust of wind hit both of them, making some good damage. The knight's host's took the damage as well.

"Urg!" "Ahhg!" They felt it, and it hurt. But they didn't care about the pain. They were fighting not only for their lives, but for Ryu's life too.

"RYU!" Haru yelled "I'm sorry! I knew how you felt, but I did nothing...! But it's not too late! I can still beat the crap out of this thing!"

"H-Haru..." Ryu heard him. He was starting to wake up.

"Ryu, just hang in there! We can beat it! for you!" Reiko said.

"Now it's our turn, you son of a bitch! Sis!"

"Right Brother, I'm with you!"

Arthur and Arthuria lined up next to each other, as did their host.

"ARTHURIA!** BUFU!**"

The female knight pointed her sword at the Shadow and ice quickly began forming below it, freezing it.

"ARTHUR! **AGI!**"

The red knight swung his sword in the air, and launched a fireball at the frozen Shadow.

Shadow Ryu got hit by it, taking great damage from the combined spells.

"Now! The last hit...!" Haru yelled.

"...We do it together! Reiko continued.

The two knights charged once more, swords pointing at the enemy, and stabed it al the same time in the chest.

Shadow Ryu gave a loud, painfull, scream before banishing and transforming back into his human form.

They had won.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Ok, so last chapter finally had some action, it was pretty boring to write the previous ones since it's just the introduction. As you saw, the twins Personas are from the Arthurian Legend. A lot of people think King Arthur was a man, but there are some that think it could have been a woman. I admit it, I saw Fate/ Stay Night and took the idea from there. I had no idea what kind of Personas I would be using for this story... and then the Arthurian Legend came to mind, so I went with it. Another thing is that I just entered college, so I won't be updating very often... sorry about that. Thanks to the people who review, favorite and follow this story!

If you have any questions or even ideas, feel free to review or PM me.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

After the battle, the two knight Personas were floating each above their host. They nodded and then returned to the siblings minds.

"Persona..." Spoke Haru, in a low voice. "No, there is no time for that"

"Yeah..." Said Reiko "The Shadow's still here... but it's not saying anything... or moving"

Haru moved closer to his friend, Ryu, who was now seating on the ground.

"Haru... I-I'm not..." Ryu tried to say, but was too shocked by the current events.

"I know, man. I think I knew something like this was inside you, but I did nothing. I'm sorry..." Haru told his friend. "But that thing is not all of you. I know you better that anyone and that's how I know you are more than that! Yes, maybe something like this was growing inside you, but that's not all! If it was, then tell me why do you train everyday? Why do you keep pushing yourself beyond limits? Are you really okay with your current level? don't you what to be the best!?"

"I-I... hehe, I do" Ryu said with a small laugh "So you knew already, huh? I should know better than to hide things from you"

He stood up and walked to his Shadow.

"Ryu, Brother's right. You are more than that thing! We've known you for years, you're one of our best friends, like another brother" Reiko told him.

"Yeah... thanks you two" Ryu looked at his Shadow in the eyes. The manifestation of his suppressed feelings. "Yes, I know you were telling the truth, but I just didn't want to admit it. I felt so comfortable with people thinking I'm the best... I didn't want to lose that feeling. But that made me lose my path... Yes, I want people to recognize me as the best, but I want it to be a reality! I'll work hard to make it come true, not only in Inaba, but also everywhere I go!"

Ryu's Shadow nodded before vanishing. In it's place, a Knight in white and green armor appeard. A silver lance in his right hand and a round shield in his left. The figure faded and turned into a card, which fell from the sky then disappeared in front of Ryu.

"Lancelot..." Ryu spoke, before falling to his knees.

"Ryu!" Both siblings said, worried.

"I'm ok. Strength left my legs for a moment..." He said "How am I going to be the best if I get tired this easily?" He stood up.

"Cocky as always..." Reiko shook her head. "Good to have you back to your normal self, though"

"Hey, Haru. If you knew what I was going through, why didn't you help me?"

"I-I... I'm sorry, I wanted to... but I didn't know how-" Haru couldn't finish.

"It's ok man, if I couldn't do anything for myself, then I have no right to say anything to you" Ryu laughed. "Plus, you did more than enough now saving my ass here. You too Reiko, thank you both"

"Hey, no problem" Replied Reiko. Haru only nodded. "But, what is this power...? And it seems Ryu has it now, too"

"Persona..." Haru spoke. "The power to call upon the mask's we live behind..."

"Brother? Wait! You had that dream too!?"

"From what we've seen up till now, I don't think it was a dream. But yes. You met Philemon too, right?"

"Wait, what? I don't follow... who's Philemon?" Asked Ryu.

"There's no time now, we need to find an exit to this place" Haru told them. "Remember, that thing might not be the only one after us"

**"Ah! You have sharp senses, I see..." **A macabre voice spoke. **"I see now why Philemon chose you and your sister. That was a good battle indeed. You show potential, but I have yet to see if it will be beneficial to me... or if it will just be a nuisance"**

"Where is it!?" Ryu asked, agitated.

"Up there!" Reiko pointed to the sky.

They saw it. The figure a what seemed to a be a fully black, gargoyle with no face and a golden crown.

"Who are you!?" Haru asked. He noticed the demon's black body and remembered. "Are you the one who brought us here!?"

The black demon paid no attention to his questions.

**"Maybe I should test you again...? Very well, let's see how you handle a bigger challenge now!"**

Suddenly, many of the harmless, human shaped shadows began to deform,, then taking diferent shapes and colors. Some looked like birds, other like a big head with no eyes and an enormous mouth, and so on.

**"Now, fight!"**

"DAMN IT!" Haru cursed. "Ryu, can you fight?"

"HA, of course!" A blue card fell from the sky and Ryu gave it a straight punch, crushing it. "PERSONA!"

With that, the green knight was summoned, and pierced through an enemy with his lance.

"Okay then" Haru knew his friend was tired, very tired. He would not last long and neither would he and Reiko. They all had just awakened to their power. Being realistic, there was no chance to survive, but they had to fight anyway.

He looked at his sister, who gave him a nod. He, too, nodded to her and both yelled.

"PERSONA!" Crushing the cards with their palms, Arthur and Arthuria were also summoned.

"We're surrounded!" Said Reiko.

"Sis, Ryu!" Called Haru. "All of us, back to back, now!" And so, they assumed a formation with their backs against each other, facing every direction. "Fight only what comes close to you!"

"Roger!" Said Reiko. "Afirmative!" Replied Ryu.

They braced themself to fight. They were as ready as they could be right now. Then, an all to familiar voice screamed.

"IZANAGI!" A tall figure in a black coat and white mask charged against a big group of shadows, and with his naginata in hand and a few strikes, destoyed them all.

"Dad!?" Haru and Reiko yelled, confused. They looked to where the voice had come from, and the he was, their father, Yu, along with their mother, Yukiko. Yosuke, Chie, Rise and Ted were also there.

"What the...!?" Ryu was at a lost.

"Yosuke, we need speed!" Said Yu.

"You got it!" A blue card appeared in front of Yosuke. He jumped in the air and crushed it with his fist. **"LET THE WINDS BLOW!" **He summoned his Persona a man in a yellow coat and fire for hair. A big blade ring floated around him.

The teens didn't know what had happened, only that a green light had enveloped them, but suddenly they felt better, as if healed. They also felt faster, much faster.

"Come on you guys! Come over here, quickly!" Chie ordered to them.

They didn't need to be told twice and ran as fast as they could, which to their surprise, was a lot faster than usual. When they arrived to their parents side, Yu asked:

"Are you three ok?"

"Yes. Barely though" Rieko answered.

"Good, rest for now. We'll take care of this" Chie told them. A card also appeared in front of her. She gave it a kick and it shattered like glass. **"DRAGONS FURY!" **Her Persona, a female warrior in golden armor and black jumpsuit, was summoned. The Image of a golden dragon surrounded each of them and they all felt stronger.

"Thanks Chie" Said Yu. "Yukiko, are you ready?"

"Not yet, give me a little more time" His wife answered, eyes closed, concentrating.

"Very well" He lifter his right hand, pointing to his Persona. "CHANGE!" Izanagi disapeared in a blue light. Another card fell into Yu's hand. "YOSHITSUNE!" A man in red samurai armor and two katanas as his weapons appeared. **"HASOU TOBI!"**

The samurai skillfully cut through the massive group of shadows with his two katanas, just missing a few of them.

"12 defeated! 13 to go!" Rise Informed them. Her Persona was already behind her, with two of her six hands on Rise's head. Her Persona looked like a woman in a white dress, but her head was a big telescope and had what seemed to be small planets orbiting around her.

"Alright, I'm ready!" Yukiko told them. She had been gathering power up till now. Her card appeared in front of her and she cutted through it with her fan. **"BURN TO SCARLET!" **She summoned a female Persona with a shiny body and long hair.

An enormous, closed flower appeared below the remaining shadows. The flower slowly opened, burning all enemies.

"Phew, we're done..." Yosuke said, relieved.

"Wait!" Rise told them. "There's still one enemy! It's... up there!"

In the sky was the black gargoyle. But it wasn't doing anything but stare at the now big group of Persona users.

"Are you the one who brought my children to this world!?" Yu asked, fury in his voice.

**"What if I did?" **The demon replied.

"If you did, then..." Another blue card fell on Yu's hand, but he didn't want to summon his Persona just yet.

**"Oh? 'The World' Arcana... we're getting serious here. Well, I'm not stupid, fighting you now would be suicide. We'll meet again... maybe. Goodbye"** And he vanished in a dark cloud.

"Wait!" Chie yelled.

"Rise, can you sense him?" Yosuke asked her.

"No... I'm sorry. I can't sense him anywhere. How about you Ted?"

"Nope, I'm _beary _sorry, but I don't smell him... it's like he's in a whole other place"

"A whole other place?" Reiko was confused "You mean another world apart from this? or the real world?"

"I don't know, all I can tell it's that he's not here"

"Dad, what is going on here?" Haru wanted to know. To this, his father sighed.

"I really don't know. We'll explain everything we do know, tomorrow. You kids need to rest now. I also need to know your side of the story, ok?"

"Yeah, sure" Haru was tired, very tired. And he knew Reiko and Ryu were tired, too. The teens weren't in the mood for heavy explanations. It had been a long day.

"Wait, but how are we getting back?" Ryu asked.

"Your uncle Ted, here, will take care of that" His father told him. "But first we should get back to the entrance"

"Entrance?" Said the three newest Persona users.

"The TV studio" Yukiko told them.

After some time walking they arrived at TV studio.

"Well... this is where we fell when we entered..." Said Ryu.

"But we didn't see any way out" Reiko finished for him.

"Just watch" Yosuke told the two of them.

Ted stood in the center of the studio. He gave two small kicks to the ground and three red TVs, one on top of another, appeared in a cloud of white smoke.

"Whoa-" Said a surprised Ryu.

"Haha, the same reaction I had!" Laughed Yosuke.

"Come on, let's just get out of here" Ordered Yu.

Everyone went through the set of TVs, passed the black and white vortex and arrived at the house's storage. Kanji, Naoto, Kaori and Yui were there, still waiting for them.

The moment Kaori saw Haru, she ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Sempai! You're here! Are you okay? I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Ahem!" Ryu coughed, signaling his and Reiko's presence there, as well.

"What a relief, you're all safe!" Yui said happily.

"Yu, what happened in there?" Naoto asked.

"We'll explain everything tomorrow. Right now they need to get some rest" Yu said, pointing at Haru, Reiko and Ryu.

"Yeah, your first time in that world is not to be taken lightly" Said Yosuke.

"I still remember the first time I went there, I thought my head was gonna split open" Chie agreed.

"Well then, we'll be going now" Kanji told Yu. "Goodbye kids, rest well."

"Thanks uncle Kanji" Haru, Reiko and Ryu said at the same time.

"We should get going as well. Come on Kaori" Rise told her daughter.

"Oh, that's right. Kaori, Yui..." Yu called them. "Just to be safe, don't go anywhere near a TV. And I mean ANY TV, ok? That goes for you three as well"

"Alright..." The teens replied.

"Okay then... time for bed. See ya all tomorrow" Haru said and left the storage with his hands behind his head.

"Hey, wait for me!" His sister said to him. "Goodnight everyone!" And she followed her brother.

After some time, everyone left for their houses. Yu and Yukiko returned to their room. Haru and Reiko had done the same.

The twins had fallen asleep, each in their own room, so what happened next made no sense to them. It could only be a dream, but...

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" Spoke a bizarre old man. He wore a black suit with white gloves, had white hair and creepy eyes, but his bigest feature, literaly, was his long nose.

Beside him was sitting a woman with light blonde hair, pale skin, golden eyes and dressed entirely in dark blue.

Haru and Reiko had just woken up there. They were both confused. This 'Velvet Room' seemed more like the inside of an old carriage. The walls and seats were, indeed, covered in blue velvet. The sound of the walking horses pulling the carriage could be heard from outside.

"What is this place..." The twins asked at the same time, and doing so realized they were right next to each other.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Asked a confused Reiko.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling 'Mr. Long Nose' here will tell us" Replied Haru.

"Ah, it seem this time we have not one, but two guest in this room" The man chuckled. "How intriguing. My name is Igor... I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Haru and Reiko Amagi"

"Huh? Wait! How do you know our names?" Haru asked.

"I've been informed beforehand by my master, Philemon" Igor replied.

"I see, so this place is conected to Philemon..." Reiko spoke in a low tone.

"Indeed. My master had been asleep for a long time, and left me in charge of dealing with our guest. But now he's awake yet again and he bestowed upon you two the power of Persona.

"This room exist between dream and reality, mind and matter. So do not be alarmed, right now you are fast asleep in the real world."

"Yet this is not a dream, right?" Said Haru.

"Precisely. I am here to help you in the next ordeal for humanity to face"

"Help us how?" Reiko asked.

"You two posses the rare power of the Wild Card. A power that's like the number zero, empty, yet with infinite posibilities. To use your power to it's full potencial you will need my help. Though it would seem that you two posses each half of this power"

"Half?" The siblings asked.

"We will discuss the details some other time. Oh, I seemed to have forgoten to introduced my assistant to you" He pointed to the woman in his left.

"Pleased to meet you... I am Margater. I am the one who rules over power, and also a resident of this room"

The twins nodded to her.

"Next time you will come here on your own accord, but before you go... Margaret" Igor looked at his assistant, who nodded.

"Please, give this to your father" Margaret handed them a big book and Haru received it.

"Ok... I have two questions... First, why give this to Dad? Philemon also mentioned him. And second, what's this?" Haru asked, confused.

"Your father was also a guest in this room" Margaret informed them. "He possesses the power of the Wild Card in it's full potencial. Given that he completed his contract with us, we can no longer aid him, that's why we ask you two to give him his Persona compendium, a colection of all Personas he ever summoned"

"D-Dad!?" Reiko couldn't belive it.

"Now then, until we meet again" With that, the siblings vision began fading away untill they both woke up in the real word. Haru had the compendium in his hand.

* * *

**A/N: **So I used Persona 4 Golden's ultimate Personas for the Investigation team, and what they yelled when summoning are some of the phrases they say when performing their ultimate atack. Thought I should clarify that.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Ok, I'll be honest with you all... this chapter didn't take long because I didn't have time to write it, but because I DIDN'T WANT to write it. It's not that I'm giving up on this story... it's just that I found this chapter so boring to write... but it was necesary... but I'm finally done with it! Funny thing is that this chapter is the longest so far. **Thank you all the people who review, favorite and follow this story! it means a lot to me :D**

* * *

Last night was horrible, I barely had any sleep. It never crossed my mind that this could happen.

Yesterday was my son's and daughter's birthday. It was supposed to be a fun day... but they got a gift I never would have wanted them to receive... A Persona. I don't know how it happened, or why it happened, but it scares me. It scares the hell out of me what might happen to my children.

I know exactly what having a Persona means. My friends and I are, too, Persona users. We got this power many years ago, and since then we've gone through many dangerous situations, and I don't want my kids to go through it. Any father would think the same.

It was thanks to my wife, Yukiko, that I managed to calm down a bit after what happened last night.

* * *

_"Damn it..." _Yu said. _"Why... why them!? And Ryu, too!"_

He was in his room with Yukiko. They had just gotten back from the TV world after their children and their best friend, Ryu_, _fell to it.

_"Yu... please calm down. I know how you feel, but there is nothing we can do now" _His wife tried to calm him down, but she sounded depressed as well.

Yu sighed _"I know... but I can't help it! you know what having a Persona means"_

_"I do. But remember that it not only means danger. Having a Persona also means you are aware of that 'other you' that exist within you, and knowing that helped us grow to who we are now, didn't it?" _She told him with a smile.

_"Yeah, I guess..." _He closed his eyes, knowing that what his wife said was true.

Yukiko felt his worries. She knew that he still remembered the time when he almost lost his little cousin, Nanako. No, that's wrong. He DID lose her, even if it was for a short time. By some miracle after Nanako died, she came back to life and with time recovered from her dangerous condition caused by entering the TV world. He didn't want something like that to happen to their children, and obviously, neither did she.

Yukiko hugged her husband tightly and after a few second, he returned it.

_"I'm scared Yukiko... I've always thought that as long you and everyone is with me I can do anything... But now they are involved too... and there is no turning back. Something's going on... Again! I can feel it. And the single thought of losing them... scares me more than anything in this world." _His voice was trembling, something nobody saw very frequently, except his wife and his best friend, Yosuke. He always had to keep a cool facade, no matter the situation, for the good of his friends. But now he could drop that, and tell his wife everything. It has always been like this. She's the one that's been able to calm him when he's upset or worried, just by being there.

_"It's okay" _Yukiko broke her grip on him and put both her hands on his cheeks. _"Our kids now have their Personas, and that means they might be in danger, we know. But that doesn't mean we're going to just sit here watching, does it?"_

_"...Of course not" _Yu smiled at her.

_"We'll protect them with everything we've got, because that's what parents do"_

_"You're right. For now all we can do is listen to their story and explain everything we can to them"_

_"Yes, but that's tomorrow. Now you and I need to rest, too" _She kissed him lightly on the lips, and then hugged him again. He returned it immediately.

_"Thank you..." _He told her with his nose buried in her hair.

* * *

Now it's time for everyone gather and start the explanations. And by everyone I mean the former 'investigation team' and their children.

It's almost nine o'clock, so they should be arriving here in about an hour. I was walking through the corridor outside the Inn, next to the garden where the koi pond and the sakura tree are. That's Haru's favorite spot in the entire house. He is usually there, sitting under the tree, reading or just relaxing. But he wasn't there now. Instead I heard him call me from behind, so I turned back to see him and Reiko standing there. Haru had something in his hand... a book, which is not anything rare, given that he reads a lot, but this one was unusually big.

"Dad... we need to talk to you… alone" Reiko said to me. She was really serious, and THAT is a rare sight. I felt my worries crawling up again, but I couldn't let them take over me.

"Okay... let's talk then" I told them and we went to an empty room in the Inn. We sat on the floor and then asked them "So, what do you need to talk about?" I'm worried, but I can't show it. I need to stay calm... for them.

The twins looked at each other and both nodded. It's funny, even though they are my son and daughter, that is something I think I'll never understand. They look at one another and it's like they understand what the other thinks without saying a word. I smile inwardly as I think that.

"Dad... we met some people that say they know you" Reiko said. People that know me...? A lot of people know me, but between yesterday night and today it could only be someone on the TV world, or...

"In case you are wandering, no, it wasn't inside that world" Haru said. If it wasn't there, then... "We met them in a place that 'exist between dream and reality, mind and matter'..."

"Or so he said..." Reiko continued for him.

"'He'...? You mean..." No, they couldn't have met HIM, could they...?

"The man's name was Igor and his assistant name was Margaret" Haru continued the story. "We met them in what looked like the inside of an old carriage, fully decorated in blue velvet..."

"The Velvet Room..." I finished for him. This can't be... Is this a joke, Igor!? I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"So you know of it"

"Yes, Reiko… I know Igor and Margaret… the room too, though it looked like a limousine when I was a guest there" I told them. "If you were there then I suppose you two are guest as well…"

"I think so. Igor said that he'll help us, but didn't explain how" Reiko said.

I sighed. Igor said he'll help them… those that mean… they're 'Wild Card' too? If so… then what kind of fate awaits them? Well, Yukiko said it; there is nothing I can do now, besides helping them. If something is going to happen I'm glad they have each other. The path of the 'Wild Card' can be really hard, but if they are together they'll succeed in whatever fate has in store for them… I know it.

I realized I had been silent for some time, and it's time to explain a thing or two to them.

"Ok… first of all, Igor can be trusted" I began. "He might be a little creepy, but you'll get used to it. When he speaks he's usually very vague, but that's because it's you who have to figure things out. He'll just give you hints"

They nodded at the same time. Haru then asked me "What about Margaret?"

I smiled. "She might look serious, be she's actually very kind. She can be trusted, too"

"What's a 'Wild Card'?" Reiko asked, next. "They said you are one, too…"

So they really are Wild Cards… "If Igor didn't tell you then it's not yet the time for you to know" I said. If I know Igor enough, I can safely say that he doesn't do things randomly. "He'll tell you when the time comes"

"If you say so…" Reiko didn't sound satisfied with my answer.

"Very well… one last question" Haru said. "Do you know Philemon?"

Philemon…? Who is he? "No… I don't. Who is he?" I asked.

"We don't know much… only that he's the one who granted us our Persona" Haru replied. He gave them their Persona? Is this like Izanami and me?

"And apparently he's Igor's master" Reiko continued. "He said that he knew our names because his master, Philemon, told him"

Igor has a master!? I didn't know that… Can I still trust Igor now I know he hid information from me…?

Before I can keep thinking, Haru calls to me. "Dad, in case you're wondering why you don't know Philemon… Igor said that he had been asleep until recently"

Ok… that would make sense. Igor doesn't say stuff that's not necessary. "I see… yes, I was wondering about that. Thanks Haru"

He nodded to me.

"Hey Brother! Give him the book!" Reiko tells him.

"Oh, right. Here, Dad, Margaret told us to give you this" Haru passes me the big book that he had all this time. I receive it and look at it.

Is this… my Persona compendium!? This book contains the record of every Persona I summoned… and also allows me to call upon them. I open the book to see not only my Personas, but also all my Social Links. The bonds I created with many people in this town while I stayed here that one year… they are all here. And of course, I remember each and every one of them, even those whom I lost contact with a long time ago.

Like Sayoko Uehara, a nurse I met when working part-time at the hospital. She left Inaba and later I learned that she joined a volunteer medical organization and went to Africa.

Or Hisano Kuroda, an old lady to which I used to talk to at the riverbed. Sadly, she died many years ago, but I'm sure she died happy. I was able to attend to her funeral.

"Dad? Are you ok? You're spacing out…" Reiko snapped me off my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that this brings back memories" I smiled at her. I looked at the time and realized that everyone should be getting here soon. "Ok, we can continue this later. Now we need to get everyone together and begin the big explanation"

"Okay…" They both said and exited the empty room. I was about to leave as well, but I felt something falling from the compendium. It was a piece of paper… and it had something written on it.

"_Don't worry, I'll look after them. It will be a personal favor just for you.  
PS: You might want to burn this or your wife could get jealous…"_

'_Margaret… Very well, I'll trust you. She's right, though… I should burn this_' I thought with a laugh.

* * *

"Well then, now that everyone is here… let's begin" Yosuke spoke.

We were all in the house's living room. The former Investigation Team and the teens involved in the incident.

"26 Years ago…" I began the story. "2011 was a year that we'd never forget. It changed us all in a way we didn't think possible…"

"That long, huh? It doesn't seem like it, though" Kanji said.

"Due to my parents working overseas I had to move here, to Inaba, to stay with my uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, for a year." I continued. "Shortly after I arrived here a murder occurred in town. A famous announcer, Mayumi Yamano had been found hanging upside down from an antenna" The teens gasped at this. "Later on, after making friends with Yosuke and Chie, we decided to give a local rumor a try… 'The midnight channel'"

"If you stare at your own reflection in a TV, alone, on a rainy night you'll see your soul mate…" Chie said. "I think it was something like that… It's been so long that I don't remember exactly how it was"

"When we tried it out, we realized it wasn't just a rumor… it was real. And we all saw the same girl on TV. It was that night that I discovered I had the power to go through a TV screen. I told Yosuke and Chie about it, but they mocked me" I looked at the married couple and saw them looking at the ground or ceiling, avoiding my gaze. "Then, after an incident at the Junes electronics department, a certain flat screen TV and a guy who was about to pee his pants…"

"HEY!" Yosuke yelled. The kids all laughed at him,

"… we ended up falling inside the TV, where we met Ted… at the time his name was just… Teddie"

I saw the teens confused expressions and before they could ask Yosuke intervened "Have you seen uncle Ted's old bear suit?" They nodded. "Well… let's just say that he's originally from that world and when we found him he was wearing that bear suit… scratch that, we WAS that bear suit, there was nothing inside… and when we asked who he was he just said 'I'm Teddie'…"

"Yosuke, I think they are even more confused now!" Rise told him.

"I think that enough for them to know for now… Please, carry on, Yu" Naoto said.

I thanked Naoto and resumed the story. I told them all the things they should know. How I got my Persona and how we started the Inaba Investigation Team, taking it upon ourselves to catch the killer. Of course, I avoided details about their parents Shadows. I told them about Namatame and Adachi, about how the three of us were 'chosen' by Izanami and how we all took different paths. I told them about their aunt Marie. Since she travels a lot they don't see her much, but I still think they should now the truth. And lastly… I told them about the 'P1 Grand Prix' which is the reason the school is there, and the existence of other Persona Users but I didn't give names there.

"Wow… it's hard to believe something like that…" Yui said, and I don't blame her.

"Yeah, all we saw was Haru-sempai, Reiko-sempai and Ryu getting suck by a TV… this is too much!" Kaori looked at her mother, who answered:

"I know it is, Kaori. I guess none of us would've believed it if we hadn't gone through it ourselves"

"Hey, we three saw that world with our own eyes but I still find hard to believe some of the story! I mean, Izanami? A goddess? Seriously!?" Ryu questioned.

"I think I agree with Ryu on this one… isn't it possible for her to be just some human with strange powers or something?" Reiko said. "It's just that I don't understand why a goddess would try to destroy the world…"

"No… it all makes perfect sense" Haru interrupted her. "All you have to do is open your mind and consider it all to be true"

"What do you mean, sempai?" Yui asked him.

"If you stop thinking of this 'Izanami' as a person with powers and instead think of her as an actual goddess, her actions do make sense. Trying to grant humanity their wish… she was just too drastic while doing it."

I smiled at my son's words. Like always, he opened his mind and listened. That kind of mindset and the fact that he saw that world with his own eyes made him quickly understand what was happening. That reminded me…

"Now it's your turn." I told the three newest Persona Users. "We need to know what happened in there. And most importantly… what was that black gargoyle?"

Haru, Reiko and Ryu looked at each other and kept silent until Ryu spoke.

"You tell them, Haru… you're better with words than any of us"

Haru sighed, then spoke "Fine…" He turned his gaze at me and began.

"We don't know what that thing was… only that it was probably him who got us inside the TV…"

He told us what happened. How they walked through the Shopping District and then got to the school, Ryu's Shadow but avoiding details. How they summoned their Personas, Arthur and Arthuria and then beat the shadow, which Ryu accepted and gained his own Persona, Lancelot, and the sudden appearance of the black gargoyle. Reiko and Ryu would sometimes interrupt Haru to say how cool he acted in the middle of danger, which seemed to annoy him.

"Hmm… Arthur and Arthuria…" Yukiko spoke quietly. "As in 'King Arthur'? from the 'Arthurian Legend'?"

"Arthur said that he was 'the son of the dragon' and in the 'Arthurian Legend' the king was 'Arthur Pendragon'" Haru said. "And 'Pendragon' means 'son of the dragon' so I'd say you're correct, Mom."

"Plus, notice how Ryu's Persona is called Lancelot, which was one of the King's most trusted knights" Naoto said.

"Wait, but Reiko's Persona is called Arthuria…" Rise intervened."Is that like a female version of King Arthur?"

"There are some theories that suggest that Arthur was not a King… they say that he was in fact _Queen Arthuria_" Naoto informed.

"So wait… what's a Persona?" Ryu asked. "If my persona is Lancelot… does that mean I'm summoning the old knight?"

"A Persona is like a mask you use in your daily life" I told him. "A façade to endure life's hardships. You now posses the power to summon this mask in the form of an ancient hero, demon or god, but that does not mean you are summoning the true entity or that you yourself are it. It just takes that form and name… we don't really understand very well, either." I sighed. It's been so many years and we still don't fully understand this power…

"There are some cases when Personas are related to each other." Yukiko said and turned to our kids. "For example, Your Dad's Persona is Izanagi, The Original God in Japanese culture and some of our Personas are related to his."

"Yeah? How?" Reiko asked curiously.

"Well, my Persona is Takehara-Susano-O… which is just Susano-O's full name. He is actually Izanagi's son" Yosuke told her.

"And my Persona is Sumeo-Okami, another name for Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun and Izanagi's daughter"

"Wait!" Reiko yelled al of a sudden. "You mean Dad is actually your father!?" She asked Yukiko.

I was about to tell her it wasn't like that, but Haru told her first.

"I don't think it works that way, Sis. If it did, then uncle Yosuke would have tried to kill Mom, but that didn't happen…" He stayed silent for a moment… "Did it…?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Yosuke yelled.

Haru reads a lot, so it's no surprising that he's familiarized with Japanese mythology.

As everyone talked to each other, I looked at the time and realized I had to be going out soon to meet someone…

"I'm sorry, but I have to meet with someone today…" I told everyone. "I wanted to schedule this for tomorrow but he's busy that day, and I have to talk to him as soon as possible"

I said my goodbyes to everyone and left the Inn in the car. Destination: Okina City.

* * *

After about 40 minutes traveling, I reached my destination and headed to an old coffee shop where I was to meet with this person.

He's actually an old friend. He and his family are going through rough times… He worked at a big company owned by Shachou Tanaka. I say 'worked' because president Tanaka died from I don't know what illness and someone made a huge mistake with some papers and the company went bankrupt… all this happening when my friend was having his vacation with his family somewhere in South America… so he couldn't do anything. I don't know the exact details, but that's basically what happened.

I entered the coffee shop and looked for my friend. Seeing as he wasn't here yet, I took a seat in a table for two.

So well, he's been looking for a new job since then. He was well paid, so they'll be okay for a while. I've been offering him to go to Inaba for some time so he can take a break from all the chaos he had to pull through. He has refused every single time… but now I have something different to talk about with him, and he can't say no to this. I had my eyes closed and was in deep thought…

"Ok, so what's so important that we have to meet yet again after talking just a few days ago?" I heard my friend's voice at the other side of the table. I still had my eyes closed as I heard him taking the seat in front of me. I opened them and answered:

"Shadows… That's what's important… Minato."

* * *

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! **Yeah... sorry for the cliffhanger, but I really needed to finish this chapter.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"You're kidding… right?" Minato, a man a just bit smaller than Yu, was wearing a dark green long jacket and black pants. His expression was serious as he asked.

"Does it surprise you that much?" Yu asked back to his friend.

Minato sighed "I guess not… it's just that it's been a long time since they last appeared…"

"15 years ago, was it?"

"Yeah… Shadows are the suppressed feelings of people, so we'll never be able to truly take care of them. We've known that for a while now…"

Yu nodded at his friends words. Indeed, Shadows can never be truly erased from existence, so their job as Persona Users might only end with their deaths… but even knowing that, they have decided by their own free will to not look away and fight. Over the years there have been a few more incidents regarding Shadows, but those are stories for another time…

A waitress arrived at their table and took their order. Yu just ordered a cup of coffee and since he was paying, Minato also ordered a cup of coffee but added a small chocolate cake.

"Well then… tell me what happened now."

Yu took a deep breath and released it, then he spoke. "My son and daughter, along with Yosuke's and Chie's son, were kidnapped and thrown into the TV World…"

"What!?"

"Don't worry, they are safe now. In fact…" He sighed. "…They gained their own Persona"

"…"

"Let me start from the beginning."

Yu told Minato what happened as told by his son and even how the twins met Igor and the possibility of them being wild cards.

"So, any ideas? Did Igor ever spoke to you about his master Philemon?" Yu finally asked. He took a sip of his coffee that had arrived in the middle of their conversation.

"No, he didn't … I'm just as confused as you are." Minato simply told him.

"And what about the gargoyle, what do you think?"

"Well, at first I thought it could have been a Shadow… but it sounds too smart to be one, since Shadows act on pure instinct."

"I thought the same… I mean, he literally kidnapped them and even spoke to me."

"What do you think its plans are? Why target them specifically? Was it its plan for them to get their Personas?" Minato asked. He couldn't see the logic in the gargoyle's actions.

"I don't know… but before we got to them inside the TV World it seemed to be testing them, making them fight even more Shadows."

"It might be too soon to say this, but…" Minato's expression turned into a mix of seriousness and concern. "Could it be targeting the children of Persona Users?"

"It's too early to reach such a conclusion, but it would be safer if we think that way…" Yu said. "Three of them were thrown into that world… we should be careful or it could happen again. The last thing I want is to put THEM in danger."

"…" Minato stayed silent.

"We might be getting a little over our heads with this… I mean, this is the first case but I don't want to take any risks. We might not know what this thing true intensions are, but I'm sure this isn't the end… it's never that simple." Yu said a bit sarcastically.

"…" Minato continued like that, he didn't say a word. He was looking straight at his cup of coffee. It was like he was in deep thought, which he was.

"… Minato?" Yu tried to wake him up, but he didn't answer.

Finally, Minato looked up and turned to Yu. "Remember what you've been offering me for some time now?"

"Yes, of course"

"Is it still available?"

Yu smiled at his friend "Of course it is. You and your family will always be welcomed at my house"

"Just let me talk about it once more with my wife..." Minato said.

"Sure."

Minato sighed "…If shadows are really coming back, we have to do something, we can't sit still." He said. "But it also scares me to think what could happen to my family… especially to my daughter."

Yu nodded at him, knowing full well what Minato was talking about.

"The threat of shadows now it's not only in Inaba... it's just a TV away. If this thing really is kidnapping the sons and daughters of Persona users… even if we are not sure about this I don't want to take any risks. If we move in with you, then not only we can work on this incident together… but it would make me feel a lot safer since all of you are in the same town…"

"That's right… the members of 'SEES' are all in different parts of the world…" Yu said.

Minato nodded. The members of the '**S**pecialized **E**xtracurricular **E**xecution **S**quad' were currently attending to their own business in different counties, so his team has split. But even so, he knew he could count on the 'Inaba Investigation Team' as well, and he trusted them just as he did his old dormates.

"I understand, don't worry." Yu smiled at him once again. "Go, talk it out with your family and we'll have everything ready for when you come. Just give me a call when you've decided so we can start the paperwork to get your daughter into Yasogami High."

"If we stay, I don't know how long it will be… but she still needs to study. Fighting Shadows didn't stop us from having a normal-" Minato paused a second. "Ok, Semi-normal life…"

They both laughed at this. They knew how hard it was to mix fighting Shadows and school life, but they managed to do so.

Minato then turned a bit more serious. "…Sorry, I don't want us to be a burden in your house."

Yu smirked at this. "Don't worry, you won't be. Don't think you'll be staying for free… You'll be helping us out at the Inn while you're there."

Minato smiled at his friend and told him "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Meanwhile, At the Amagi Inn, sometime after Yu left the house, Yukiko and the twins were alone once again. It had gotten late, so everyone left for their houses. Good thing for everyone it was a holyday, so they all had the day off of school and work… except of course the Amagis… a holyday means extra work for them since they receive even more guest.

Normally the twins would be helping with chores around the Inn, but given the recent events, their mother gave them the day off of work, too.

Each of them was in their respective room, thinking about the stuff that happened the day before, and what the adults told them today. It was complicated, yes, but the things they've seen and the people they've met made it all seem more believable.

Suddenly a big outburst came from Reiko's room and she came out of it running as fast as she could.

"MOM!" She screamed. Reiko found her mother in one of the hallways in the house. Yukiko noticed how agitated her daughter was and hold her tight.

"Reiko, what's wrong!? Are you ok!?" She asked concerned.

"Mom, please tell me I'm not going crazy!"

"What? What happened?"

"I heard a voice! It sounded like a woman but the sound came out of nowhere, like it was coming from inside my head!"

"Oh, that! No, honey, don't worry, you are not crazy." Yukiko told her daughter with a calming tone in her voice.

"Then what is it…!?" Reiko asked, a bit more calm to hear her mother's answer but still agitated.

"That's just…"

"Our Persona, isn't it?" Haru interrupted his mother. He was coming from the same direction his sister did, but he was walking, instead of running.

Yukiko smiled at her son "Yes, it is."

"You heard a voice, too, Brother?" Reiko asked him.

"I did. Though it was a man's voice in my case…" He answered.

"How did you know it was your Persona speaking?" Yukiko asked him.

"Unlike my sister, I decided to talk with the voice, and wanted to know what it was or where it was coming from" He answered. "When he said **'I am thou and thou art I' **it was clear enough, I was talking to my Persona, Arthur."

"Wait, we can talk back to them?" Reiko now sounded curious instead of worried.

"Apparently we forgot to tell you that one little detail…" Yukiko laughed lightly. "But the hallway is no place to talk. Let's go to the living room."

And so they did. They all sat in at the table to begin their conversation.

"Ok, so…?" Reiko asked, impatiently.

"Yes, it is possible to communicate with your Persona, it's not very hard and it's something all of us know how to do."

"So, how do you do it?" Haru asked this time.

"All you have to do is reach a certain level of concentration. Think of it as simple meditation."

"I guess it makes sense…" Said Haru.

"Well, I WAS in deep thought when I heard Arthuria…" Reiko said, too. "But wait? What are we hearing from our Persona? Aren't they our other self? Does that mean we are hearing ourselves?"

"In a way…" Yukiko replied. "Yes, a Persona is your 'other self', another side of you. What you hear are indeed your thoughts, but those you would not be fully aware on your own."

The twins gave her a look of confusion.

"Hmm, let's see… oh, you saw Ryu's Shadow, right?" The siblings nodded. "We don't need to get into details there. All you have to know is that a Shadow is a person's hidden thoughts, feelings and emotions this person is not aware of, or is not willing to accept. When you accept your Shadow, which is mastered by your ego, it becomes a Persona. And once you've obtain your Persona, this one becomes some sort of 'reminder' of who you really are, so you won't tell lies to yourself and your Persona becomes a Shadow once again."

"I see…" Haru said, while nodding.

"This gives a whole other meaning to 'talking to yourself', doesn't it?" Reiko said, laughing.

"Hahaha, I guess it does." Yukiko laughed along with her, and so starting one of her long famous laughing fits. Haru could only sigh at this.

"Oh no… what started it this time…?" Yu, who had just arrived at the house, asked.

"What I think must be an overused joke…" Haru simply answered.

"Mom was telling us about how we can talk to our Personas!" Reiko managed to stop laughing and told her father.

"Oh, that's great! Why don't you give it a try later? It helps a lot to clear ones thoughts" He told them. "But before you do… we need to have a family reunion."

Yukiko also managed to stop her almost infinite laughing fit when she saw the mood was a bit more serious. Yu then took a seat beside his wife and in front of the twins.

"Ok, this is what's happening. An old friend of ours has been having some… financial issues because the company he worked for went bankrupt." Yu Began. "But that's not all. Since had an important position in the company, he had to deal with a lot of things… like people suing the company and such. We've been offering him and his family to come stay with us for some time, while they fix things, but he has refused every time… but things are different now."

"Huh? What is…?" The siblings asked, confused.

Yu sighed. "He and his wife… are also Persona Users."

"What?" Asked Haru. "Really?" Asked Reiko.

"In fact you know these people" Yukiko intervened. "Or it might be more precise to say that they know you."

The twins tilted their heads to the side showing how they were still confused.

"Although we've kept in contact with them we haven't seen them in a long time. They came back to Japan just this year." Yu said. "But before that, when you two were around 3 and 4 years old, they used to come here more often with their daughter who is you age, too."

"You might not remember much from that time, but you three used to play quite a lot in the garden." Yukiko said.

"And you say her parents are also Persona Users…?" Reiko asked.

"Who are they? Maybe I can remember something if you tell me their names…"Haru said.

"They are Minato and Yukari Arisato and their daughter's name is Mei" Yukiko told them.

"Hmm… not much comes to mind…" Haru said.

"I think I remember uncle Minato having blue hair… but that's it." Said Reiko.

"Well, the thing is…" Yu continued. "With what happened yesterday, we have to start investigating what's really going on here, fast, and Minato wants to help, too. So, if things go well… they will be living with us for some time."

"Wait, but their daughter, Mei… She's not a Persona User…" Haru said.

"We'll have to tell her at some point… but don't worry too much about it for now. If they do come, they'll be moving in a few days." Yu said to his son. "But I need to know what you two think."

"Your father and I have talked about it many times, and we both agree that it would be good for them to be here. But in this family we are not two, but four people and we need to know what you think." Yukiko told them.

"I have no complains. If uncle Minato and aunt Yukari are Persona Users then that's great… But its Mei the one I'm worried about." Haru said.

"We'll just have to be quieter about it when she's around…" Reiko said. She didn't like having to lie to someone, but the circumstances were… special. "But having more people here could be fun!"

"I'm glad to hear that." Yu said.

"Thank you for agreeing with us." Yukiko thank them with a smile.

"Oh, and one last thing" Yu said again. "Don't schedule anything for tomorrow after school."

"Huh? Why?" Reiko asked.

"Since you got your Personas, you might as well learn to use them. You two and Ryu will be getting special training with Yosuke, Rise and me."

"Does that mean we're going to the TV world again…?" Reiko asked.

"I know it's sudden, but you need to be able to protect yourselves in a case of emergency." Their mother told them.

"All right, I'm up for it." Haru said, smirking. "And I'm sure Ryu is, too."

"Good thing I don't have drama club tomorrow…" Said Reiko.

"All right, you better go get some more rest. Tomorrow will be a tiring day." Yu told them.

And so, the twins said goodnight to their parent and left for their rooms.

* * *

Time passed and everyone was asleep… or at least everyone should be at 1:30 AM. The twins were, in fact, awake. They decided to take some time and talk to their Personas, but before they knew it, it was already past midnight. Now, even if trying, none of them could get any sleep.

Haru was in his bed, eyes closed and body still as it could be, but sleep did not come to him. At one point he decided he had enough.

"Screw it!" He rolled quickly out of bed and headed to the Inn's garden, still in his light black pants and red shirt for pajamas.

Reiko on the other hand was moving way too much from one side of the bed to another.

"_sigh_… I need a walk." She got out of bed and headed to the garden, as well.

Haru was faster and got there first. The lights in the hallway besides the garden were always kept lit at night so he had no problem seeing and the summer heat was still present. He made his way to his favorite spot, the sakura tree right beside the koi pond.

The reason Haru loves this spot so much is because it helps him relax in a strange way no other place can. This specific spot is surrounded by a strange aura… or that's how he feels when he's here.

Haru sat on the grass and rested his back on the tree. "Why am I so agitated…?" He spoke softly. His eyes were closed like he was trying to relax his body.

"You too, huh?" A feminine voice spoke. It was, of course, Reiko.

Haru looked at her. She has standing right in front of him, just a couple of meters away. It was no surprise she'd found him here at this time of night. They had grown accustomed to the 'coincidences' that happened to them, like making the same decisions sometimes without even talking about it first.

"Yeah…" That was his answer.

"I couldn't sleep ether…"

"I can see that, Sis." He said teasingly.

"Ha ha… very funny. So, what's keeping you up?"

"After talking to my Persona, I reached the conclusion that I'm really nervous."

"Nervous? About what?" Reiko was surprised. Her brother was always calm… or rather, was always bored.

"Maybe that's only half true… I'm both nervous and excited" Haru broke the poker face he had until this moment and replaced it with a smirk.

"Excited?"

"Yeah… tomorrow Dad's going to teach us how to better use our Persona. I'd be lying if I said I don't find that exciting." Reiko shook her head in resignation. Of course her brother would be excited about this… he must see it as if it were a game. "But at the same time…" Haru continued. "I'm aware of the dangers of what's going on… or at least I think I am." His face turned serious now.

"I guess it is kind of exciting…"Reiko said. "I don't know, though, it scares me… not knowing what's gonna happen." She closed her eyes. "I don't even understand what's going on… Everything's happening so fast. At one moment we just wanted to play a game and at the other we are fighting for our lives!"

"I know… but don't worry; everything is going to be ok."

"How do you know!?" Reiko asked angrily.

"Because we'll make sure of it." Haru replied, calmly. "We are not alone, Reiko. We have our parents, uncles and aunts… Heh, even Ryu. And even though Kaori and Yui don't have powers like us, I'm sure they'll be supporting us, no matter what." He smiled at his sister. "If things don't go right we'll make them right. That's how it should work."

Reiko smiled at her brother's words. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks." He just nodded at her in response. "We should go in… it's late and like you said, Dad has training for us tomorrow."

"Yeah… I wouldn't want to fall asleep in the middle of it." This made Reiko giggle.

As they started to make their way towards the house, they saw a blue light shining from behind a couple of smaller sakura trees in the garden. The twins were surprised, but not scared. The light seemed familiar to them.

Looking at each other and exchanging knowing glances, the sibling decided to approach the place where the light came. Once they reached it, they saw a strange, large, blue door.

"Well… this wasn't here before." Haru said. Reiko nodded her head at this.

Suddenly, another blue light shined. But this time it came from each of the twins right hands.

After the lights went down, they saw a key in their hands. The door flashed in blue light once more, as if telling them to get in.

"Who goes first?" Haru asked.

"You." Reiko answered.

"Fine by me." And he used his key to open the door. A second later Reiko used hers.

Both saw a bright, white light that almost blinded them. Moments later they found themselves at the Velvet Room once again.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room once more, Haru and Reiko." Igor spoke to them in that unique voice of his.

"Hello. Um… before we begin, may I ask what's with the big, blue door at the Inn's garden?" Reiko asked.

Igor chuckled. "Don't worry. That door is the means for you to come into this room whenever you want, and it's only seen by those who are currently guests here."

"I see… and the key?" Haru asked this time.

"My master, Philemon watches over you. He gave you those keys because you will need them from now on."

"Is he always watching…?" Haru asked.

"Creepy…" Reiko said.

Igor only chuckled. "I believe it's time for me to tell you about your powers as Wild Cards"

The siblings nodded at him.

"The Wild Card is the power to wield multiple Personas." Igor began. "Every Persona is represented by an arcana. Your current Personas, Arthur and Arthuria, are both from the Fool Arcana."

Igor then spread 23 tarot cards in the small table in front of him. One of them was repeated.

"I said before that you two possess half of this power. What I meant was that each of you can only summon Personas from certain arcanas."

He separated eleven cards to his right, where Haru was, and twelve cards to his left, where Reiko was.

"Haru, you are able to summon Personas from the following Arcana:  
Fool, Magician, Emperor, Lovers, Justice, Strength, Death, Devil, Tower, Sun and Judgment.

Reiko, you on the other hand are can summon Personas from: The Fool, Priestess, Empress, Hierophant, Chariot, Hermit, Fortune, Hanged man, Temperance, Star, Moon and Aeon"

"I can use one more arcana than my brother. What does that mean?"

"You've always been better at acting than me." Haru said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

Haru just smiled and shook his head, then asked: "You said my father is a full Wild Card. Does that mean he can use all these Arcana?"

"Precisely"

"Wow… Dad must be really strong!" Reiko said.

"He is…" Margaret chuckled.

"So, how is it that you are going to help us use the full potential of the Wild Card?" Haru asked again.

"A good question indeed!" Said Igor. "I am capable of giving birth to new, more powerful Personas! But to do this I must fuse 2 or more Personas which you must bring to me."

"How are we going to find new Personas…?" Asked Reiko.

"Once you've defeated your enemies, you'll see the faces of possibility appear before you as cards. At times, they may be hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them."

"Another thing is…" Margaret said. "Your Persona ability is strengthen as you become involved with others and create bonds with them. These bonds are called 'Social Links'." She opened the new, big book on her hand. "It seems some Social Links have already been established, but there is still space for them to become stronger."

In the book, pictures of some of their friends could be seen. Ryu represented the 'Chariot', Kaori the 'Magician' and Yui the 'Justice'. The three of them together formed the 'Fool' Social Link. It seemed natural that this Social Links already existed. The five of them had been together since birth; they knew each other very well and were almost like sibling. But apparently there was still room for improvement.

"The road up ahead will be difficult. But believe in yourselves and continue without faltering." Said Margaret.

"Now, it would be best if you two go back and get some rest. You will need it for what is to come."

The twins nodded again. "Thank you" They both said.

"Now then, until we meet again." Igor said.

After a few moments, the twins found themselves in the garden once again.

"Let's go to bed…" Haru said. "I think I'll be able to sleep now."

"Yeah, me too."

They left for their respective rooms and finally feel asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **There are some things I'd like to say in about this chapter and the story in general. First… I didn't believe much when people said that college took so much time from them… but now I do! It's horrible!  
Second, I was writing this and realized that today should be Monday in the story… so I had to say it was a holyday (please, don't ask).  
Third, since I'm using Philemon as the reason the twins have their powers, I also had to go with how Personas worked in previous games (Persona 1 and 2) which I honestly haven't played, but still. This means, half the arcanas each.  
Another thing is that I've read in many fan fictions that personas can talk (If you haven't read Split Personalities then you should! It's great!) But I didn't want to make them appear in the real world and all that 'cause it would make things more complicated for me, plus, this way, I can explain my vision of what having a Persona means.  
For Social Links… this gave me a little headache. At first Arthur and Arthuria were going to be from the Emperor and Empress arcana, respectively… but the Social Links would've been screwed. Also I don't want to show 'RANKS' for them, I don't think friendship can be measured that way, nor am I going to say when a Social Link becomes stronger (maybe at the final 'Ranks' but we'll see).  
**I'M ACCEPTING IDEAS FOR SOCIAL LINKS BTW! **Keep in mind that Haru and Reiko will be making Social Links with people of the arcanas they can use. That doesn't mean they won't be friends with the people they can't make Social Links with. (For example: Haru and Ryu don't have a S.L. but they are still very good, if not best, friends. Like In Persona 3 with Jumpei, Akihiko, Ken, etc.)  
And one last thing is… Yeah, Minato is married to Yukari. Some people might not like this but this is how envisioned this story.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hello again. This took longer than I expected, since I had exams last week. The good thing: I did pretty well in all of them, so I'm satisfied.

This chapter was actually easy and fun to write but I'm still not writing action scenes… They'll come very soon, though. I decided to try something new so I don't know if it's easy to understand.  
This turned into a very long chapter so I had to split it into two.  
I think I'm getting used to write now… but since I'm not writing in my native language I still have to be careful. Please, read and review. I need the feedback to know what am I doing wrong and what's good.

To the people who DO review, favorite, follow, and read this story: thank you very much. And now without further ado…

* * *

**Chapter 7**

I was running around the soccer field at school somewhat early in the morning. Reiko and I were in P.E. but in different groups. Girls were playing Volleyball while we, guys, were running around like idiots. This is boring! I'd rather be playing something else, or reading my new book, or practicing sword fighting with my dad!

Yes, it's been about a week since the incident of the TV world happened and for the past few days Dad has been helping us train with both our Personas and our bodies.

Reiko, Ryu and I have passed many days afterschool training in every way we can. This is by our own free will. Dad says that we should take it slow and live our lives normally, that it isn't healthy to push ourselves too hard. But I don't think we are pushing ourselves, in fact, I've enjoyed most of this past week. I know we're preparing for something dangerous that could happen any minute, but I can't help but feel excited whenever I train. I won't lie to myself… I'm enjoying this so far.

We began last Tuesday, right after school ended.

* * *

The five of us, Reiko, Ryu, Kaori, Yui and me, left school and went to the Shopping District. Dad told us he and uncle Yosuke would meet us there.

"There they are!" Uncle Yosuke told Dad while he looked at us who were running toward them.

They were standing close to the old book store, a place I'm all too familiar with, so I was wandering what were we doing here.

"Come on, follow us" Dad said before I could ask anything.

We followed them just a bit further from the book store and stopped right before a shop that had a weird samurai armor decorating the entrance. It seemed to be somewhat hidden but it was still easy to find if you were looking for it. I know this place, this is **Daidara Metal Works**. We found this just by chance when we were little and were playing near Kaori's house, the tofu shop, where she lives with her uncle and aunt.

Since her mother is busy most of the time and has to travel a lot from place to place, Kaori stays here in Inaba with her mother's cousin and her husband. Kaori's story is a bit complicated… when she was little she used to travel with her mother and they would come to Inaba from time to time. When she turned 5 years old, her mother decided that it wasn't good for her to live like that and brought her here to stay with her cousin, who took over the tofu shop when her grandmother died. As far as I know, Kaori's aunt and her husband can't have children, so they received her with open arms.

Well, the thing is we found this place once but never dared to go in… it looked creepy in the eyes of 6 year olds.

"What is this place…?" My sister asked.

"Metal Works… I think." Kaori answered. "I know I live close to this place, but I never came here before."

"Don't just stand there, let's get in!" Uncle Yosuke said.

We got in and found out Kaori was right. The place was filled with all sorts of blades and metal crap. There were swords, daggers, axes, spears, maces… even pots and stuff for everyday use.

"AH! Welcome kids!" Said an old sounding voice.

I looked to see who had spoken and saw an old man, bald and with an orange auburn mustache, standing behind the counter. He had a big X-shaped scar that covered almost all of his face. He was wearing a white shirt with a brown obi and white pants.

Something I noticed is that he wasn't looking at any of us "kids" when he said welcome. He was looking at Dad and uncle Yosuke… why!?

"We are not kids anymore, you know old man?" Uncle Yosuke said.

"Everyone's a kid in the eyes of an old man! Hahaha!" The old man laughed.

"Kids…" This time Dad was speaking to us. "This is Master Daidara, the owner of this shop. We met him during our… 'Adventures' back in the day…"

"Does he… 'know'" I whispered to Dad. He only shook his head.

"You haven't come here in a while… what can I help you with, son? You came to look at my art?"

"We came here to buy something for them…" Uncle Yosuke pointed at us. "We still don't know what, though."

"What? Something for us?" Reiko asked.

"Hum… all of us?" Yui asked, too.

"We'll give the details later; just choose something you feel it's comfortable for you to fight with." Yosuke said.

"um… won't the old man get suspicious about why you are buying weapons to children?" Reiko whispered to Dad.

"Hey! Who are you calling an old man, lady!?" 'Master Daidara' scolded her. Man, he has good hearing! "I might be one, but at least show some respect!"

"I'M SORRY, SIR! I MEANT NO DISRESPECT, SIR!" Reiko quickly apologized.

"But to your question, no, I do not suspect anything. I've been selling my art to them for years and haven't heard anything about it being used for bad purposes. This old man knows who to trust with his art! And by the look of your eyes, you kids are trustworthy, too." He said.

"Thank you for your trust, sir." I thanked him. He gave me an odd look, but quickly dismissed it… What was that?

"Anyway, if its weapons you need, I have someone who can help you." He said. "Hey, Takumi! Come here!" Old man Daidara called for someone at the back of the shop. Soon after, a boy around my age maybe, appeared from the curtains in the back.

"I'm here!" He said. The boy had orange auburn, very short hair. He was also wearing a white shirt but with a black obi and black pants. He was all covered in sweat and black dirt, which I think could be coal. He looks familiar, for some reason… have I seen him before?

"This is my grandson, Takumi Minoru." Daidara put his hand in his grandson's shoulder. They were standing side by side so I noticed how Takumi was just a bit smaller than his grandfather. "Takumi here is learning from me how to make art with metal. He has a lot of potential!" He seems proud. "But he also has an interesting ability… Do your thing, son."

"Alright, grandpa." Takumi said. He got pass the counter and came straight to us… or rather, my sister.

He was standing there, just looking at her. I saw her getting a bit uncomfortable from being stared at. We were all looking at him oddly. What was he doing?

"May I see your hands, please?" Takumi politely asked Reiko.

"Umm… ok." She said, and showed him her hands.

"I got it." He said. "Your figure is thin, but not frail. Big weapons will only slow you down, and small ones will put you in too much danger… My recommendation would be to choose some sort of short sword. To be more specific…" Takumi neared one of the stands with various short blades, took one and offered it to Reiko by the hilt. "…A Cutlass."

Reiko took the hilt of the sword and unsheathed it. The sword had only one edge and was slightly curved. There also was a basket shaped guard in the hilt. It looked like a very basic design but you could see it was well made.

"It's a little heavy." Reiko noted.

"That this is the weapon most suitable for you does not mean you're a master in it." He said. "All I'm saying is that if there is a weapon that you would better adapt to, then it's the cutlass."

"I REMEMBERED!" Kaori screamed out of the blue, scaring us all.

"What did you remember…?" Ryu asked her after he calmed down.

"I've seen you before!" She pointed to Takumi. "You're a senior at our high school!"

That's why I've seen him before!

"Hey, you're right! I thought I recognized you!" Reiko said.

"Haha, Yeah, I guess I look different when I'm in these clothes and all covered in coal." Coal. Called it.

"Oh, yeah… Didn't you transfer to Yasogami this year?" Ryu asked.

"Yes, I did." Takumi answered. "Please, don't get me wrong, I'd love to keep chatting… but can we get back to business?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry!" Kaori said.

"No need to apologize" He smiled at her.

Apparently it was Kaori's turn 'cause he was looking at her now. Like he did with Reiko, he asked to see her hands and she showed them.

"This is hard… Close combat doesn't seem to be an option for you, since you can be easily overpowered by a taller opponent. Maybe you could… yes, that's it." He neared another stand, where many kinds of pole arms were placed. He took one which I actually recognized. It was, too, a basic design. It was a long, black, wooden pole with a curved blade on the top.

"Even though it's heavy, the naginata could cover your weak points if you learn to control it." I had to agree with him on this one. It's heavy, but the long range and versatility of use this weapon has could fit Kaori.

She took the weapon with both hands and tied its weight.

"You're right… it is heavy."

Takumi went to Yui next. He kept looking at her and asked to see her hands. After a while he said:

"I'm sorry to say this… but I don't think there is a weapon for you…"

"What? Why…?" Yui looked a bit surprised.

"I mean, everyone can do anything if they really want to, so if you want to use a weapon you can, but I don't think you are one to fight. You seem like the kind of person who doesn't want people to get hurt… or at least that's what I think."

"You're right…" Yui sighed in relief. "I don't really want to use a weapon…" She looked at Dad and uncle Yosuke. Both of them were smiling and nodded at her in approval.

"Fighting is your choice, Yui. If you don't want to do it, just say it!" Uncle Yosuke told her with a smile.

"Thank you." Yui said, smiling, too.

"Now…" Takumi said as he neared Ryu.

"Let's see if you can guess right with me." Ryu told him with a smirk.

"I don't guess… I analyze." Takumi smirked back.

He went through the same process with a serious face, and when he finished he smirked again.

"There's no weapon for you, either." Wait what!?

"What!? Don't tell me it's because I don't want to fight, because that's bullsh-" Ryu couldn't finish that last word 'cause Kaori slapped him in the head.

"Watch your mouth, Ryu!" She told him.

"What she said!" His father told him, too.

"That's not what I meant." Takumi told Ryu. "I see that you don't even want to use a weapon. What you want, what would best suit you is to use your own two fists."

"Ok… I'll start believing that you analyze instead of taking lucky guesses." Ryu was smirking again.

"I don't think claws or bladed gauntlets will fit you… I'm thinking gloves and maybe put something inside them if you really want to do some damage… Do we have something like that, grandpa?"

"No, but we can make it." Daidara told his grandson.

"Alright then… you're the only one left." Takumi told me.

He was right in front of me, staring. But there was something odd now. Before he kept the same serious face… but now he shifts from surprised, to worried and at the end, curious. He looked at my hands too, but there was nothing odd there.

Takumi gave me a final look and then turned to his grandfather.

"Grandpa… can we trust him with one?" He asked him.

What does he mean? Does he doubt me…? Why? Now that I think about it, Daidara gave me an odd look, too.

An idea crossed my mind. I think I know why they doubt me. Everyone's faces showed obvious surprise.

"Are you saying my brother is not worthy of your trust!?" Reiko asked, angry.

"What would you know!? You just met him!" Ryu was angry, too.

"Everyone calm down." My dad said.

"It's ok guys, let them make their judgment." I told them.

I've been aware of this since the day I summoned my Persona, and apparently Daidara and Takumi saw it… I don't know how, but they did.

The reason they doubt me…

The same reason that scares me…

But at the same time fills me with excitement…

I…

**I want to fight!**

* * *

Yes, I've enjoyed this past week of training for that reason. I want to fight.

I kept running around the field as I thought about this.

The feeling of adrenaline when summoning my Persona is something that I won't forget. Even thinking about it now sends chills through my spine as an involuntary smirk appears on my face. When I came back to my senses I noticed I was running faster than before and the teacher told me to slow down, that I'd waste my energy this way.

He's right… I know he is. This is the reason I'm scared and why Master Daidara and Takumi doubted me.

Will I be able to control myself in the middle of battle? A warrior's mind must stay clear at all times so he doesn't get blinded by emotions like rage or excitement… but I don't know if I can control that.

I guess I'll have to wait for a real battle to take place until I know for certain. At least, that's what the people at the Metal Works shop think.

* * *

"What do you think?" Daidara asked his grandson.

"I don't know. He seems… how do I say it…? Unpredictable." Takumi said.

"Are you saying you don't trust him just because you can't 'read' him!?" Kaori asked.

"Kaori, it's ok. They have a point." I told her.

"You seem to be aware what we are talking about, son." Daidara told me.

"I am. But I guess only time will ease my own doubts." I told him.

The blacksmith and his apprentice stayed silent for a while, then, Takumi went to one of the stands and grabbed a big sword by the scabbard and offered it to me by the hilt.

I was a bit surprised about this, so I looked at Takumi. He was smiling and nodded at me. I smiled too and nodded back, took the hilt of the sword and unsheathed it with one hand. Realizing it was heavier than I thought, I grabbed it with both hands.

It was big, pretty big… smaller than me, but still. Like the other weapons given to my friends it was a basic design. I am no expert in this, but I could tell the double edge blade and the hilt were made of iron. I looked at the scabbard in Takumi's hands and saw it was made from leather.

"You seem to be a bit more versatile than your friends. I'd say that Longswords are more your thing. Get used to its weight and you'll have no problem. But I'd recommend against using katanas or other single-edge swords."

"Why…?" I asked.

"They're different styles." It was my dad who answered.

"Exactly." Said Takumi. "Well, this is just my recommendation. As you see, I have this sort of ability so see what weapon a person is best suited for. If these are not your liking feel free to choose something else."

"I like this one." Reiko said, looking at her new cutlass.

"I think I can get used to this." Kaori agreed, examining her naginata.

"Then if you could get me some gloves… that would be great." Ryu said.

I looked at the Iron Sword in my hands. Will I be able to do this? Suddenly I remembered the words I told my sister before we went into the Velvet Room last night.

_"We are not alone, Reiko. We have our parents, uncles and aunts… Heh, even Ryu. And even though Kaori and Yui don't have powers like us, I'm sure they'll be supporting us, no matter what. If things don't go right we'll make them right. That's how it should work." _

Yes, I can do it. I have to do it.

I nodded once more to Takumi and he offered me the scabbard so I could sheathe my sword.

"Then we'll take them all." Uncle Yosuke said. He and Dad went to the counter to play for everything.

"How are we going to take all of this, home?" Reiko asked.

"We'll put them in the car." Dad said.

"Ah, the advantages of being and adult… when we were young we had to hide our stuff under our clothes." Uncle Yosuke said.

"Sure Yosuke, a pair of knifes are hard to hide."

"Hey, you never told me how you managed to hide your sword."

"It's a secret."

They packed everything into uncle Yosuke's car, we said goodbye to Master Daidara and Takumi and we went home. Kaori and Yui decided to go to their respective houses since they weren't training with us inside the TV world.

* * *

The trip to Daidara's was actually very interesting and helpful. Through the course of the week, I've been getting used to my sword and so has Reiko with hers.

That same day we went to the TV world to train with our Personas. We got home and aunt Rise was already waiting for us while she talked with Mom.

Dad said he had to do something quickly and left for his room.

Meanwhile we went to our rooms to leave our stuff from school and change our uniforms.

* * *

The six of us, Dad, uncle Yosuke, aunt Rise, Ryu, Reiko and me, were standing in front of the old, flat screen TV.

Reiko and I were now wearing more comfortable clothes. She was wearing her favorite sky-blue short-sleeved shirt and dark jeans while I wore one of my favorite red T-shirts and black trousers. Reiko also had her new cutlass in hand while I had my longsword.

"Haru, try touching it." Dad said, gesturing the TV.

I extended my hand towards the TV and lightly touched it with my fingertips, creating ripples in the screen like it was made of water.

"Hey, Yu." Uncle Yosuke said. "Why don't you three go in first? There is something I need to talk about with Ryu. Rise, could you stay, too?"

"Huh? Okay, sure." Aunt Rise said.

"Alright then, we'll go in first." Dad said.

"Do you want me to go first?" I asked him.

"Sure, why not."

I decided to go in first and slowly put my arm inside the TV, then my whole body. I started falling and in the way all I saw was black and white, just like last time.

I stopped falling and landed on my feet. I was prepared this time, so I didn't hit my head.

There was something different about this place… although it looks the same as last time, the air feels heavier.

I heard a small scream becoming louder and louder. I was coming from above.

I looked up and indeed, my sister was falling in an awkward position. She was not going to land well. I sighed and decided to catch her before she hit the ground.

I extended my arms and in a few moments she landed heavily on them.

"Ow! Huh!? I didn't hit the ground!" She yelled happily, and then she looked at me. "Thanks Bro!" She hugged me.

"Alright, alright… now get off me." And she did.

Seconds later we heard another person landing on his feet somewhat near to us. We look around to see Dad.

He had changed his clothes, too. Now he was wearing dark-grey trousers, a white short-sleeved shirt and a thin grey coat he wore open. In his hands were a leather bag and a Katana.

I've seen that one before… That Katana was hanging from a wall in Dad and Mom's room.

"It feels just like before…" He said.

"Are you talking about this world?" I asked him.

"Yeah… There's no fog, but the feeling is the same as the one when I was young."

"I can feel it too… the atmosphere is heavier. It's giving me chills." Reiko said.

Dad dug into his bag and from it took the same big book we gave to him… His compendium. He opened it a looked at various pages.

"You two, come here." He told us.

We went to where Dad was standing.

"Has Igor told you about your powers as Wild Cards?" Dad asked us.

"Yes, he already did." I answered.

"It's the power to use multiple Personas, he said." Reiko told him.

"Then that makes things a bit easier…"

"But there is one more thing, Dad." I interrupted him.

"What is it?"

"Igor also said that we posses half of this power." My sister said.

"From the 22 Arcanas he mentioned, I am able to use eleven and Sis can use twelve."

"Is that so…" Dad looked surprised and confused at the same time. "What Arcanas can you use?"

"While we both can wield the Fool Arcana, I can use Magician, Emperor, Lovers, Justice, Strength, Death, Devil, Tower, Sun and Judgment." I informed him.

"And I can use Priestess, Empress, Hierophant, Chariot, Hermit, Fortune, Hanged man, Temperance, Star, Moon and Aeon."

"I see…" Dad then smiled at us. "This means you have to work together to use the Wild Card's full potential."

We nodded.

"Then I have a gift for you two. Close your eyes."

We did as he told us. He didn't say a word after that.

What DID happen was that I saw a card in front of me in the white background of my mind. The card had the picture of a small fairy on it. After that a bunch of other card appeared around it and they all had the same blank design. Every card turned back and they started to fly around.

I didn't understand what was going on, but from a bunch of blank cards there was one that was different… why not try and found it?

I focused on the cards and once I thought I found the one I was looking for I focused even harder on that one. I waited for it to fly close enough to me… and when it did, I took it! Not with my hands, but with my mind… it's a bit weird.

In front of me appeared the same card with the fairy picture until it vanished. I felt strange… like there was someone else with me… but it felt familiar at the same time.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Dad looking at my sister and me.

"Pixie…" I said quietly.

"…Slime?" Reiko said a bit… disgusted?

"You'll know what to do when the time comes. These will help you start." Dad told us.

A few moment later we saw Ryu fall from the sky and land on his feet. Uncle Yosuke and aunt Rise followed him.

"Alright, we're all here!" Uncle Yosuke said.

"Rise, can you check the area once more, please." Dad asked her.

"No problem, Yu!" She said. "Come, Kouzeon!"

A card fell from the sky and was crushed in front of aunt Rise. Her Persona appeared behind her. This is the second time I see a Persona being summoned… if we count all summoned Personas from last time as one. It's amazing how a creature, spirit or whatever can appear out of nowhere just crushing a card. Still, aunt Rise's Persona is so weird… her head it's a telescope and has little planets orbiting around her for god's sake!

"It's just like the other day… It seems the Shadows got aggressive again. If they find us they'll attack us without doubt." She said.

"You think it's because of that black thing?" Uncle Yosuke asked.

"That weird gargoyle?" Ryu said.

"I think it's safe to assume that for now." Dad said. "Are the old places safe enough?"

"Yes, I don't detect anything out of the ordinary coming from any of them. The castle should be a good enough place to train."

"Alright, let's go then." Uncle Yosuke said.

"Yes! Let's begin!" Ryu said, pumped.

We walked to where this castle was supposed to be. It was a little hard to believe a castle could be here… but if the Shopping District and the school were here then why not a castle?

On the way uncle Yosuke gave Ryu a pair of leather gloves for him to fight with. Where did he get those?

"_Sigh… _is that why you stayed back in the storage? To search the boxes and steal my old gloves?" Dad asked him.

"Hey, I really needed to talk to my son! We just did a little digging afterwards… And Rise helped!" He said.

"Hey! You said you had permission to do it!" Aunt Rise yelled at him.

Dad only shook his head in resignation.

* * *

We arrived at the scene without any difficulties. Dad said it was because Shadows normally reside inside this kind of places and don't normally get out.

We stood outside of the castle. Dad was going to explain a few more things to us before we went in.

"Dad…" Reiko said. "This is where you, uncle Yosuke and aunt Chie found Mom, right?"

"That's right." He answered.

"Why is it a castle…?" I asked.

"I can't answer that now…" He laughed awkwardly. "And even after all these years… I still don't think I have the right to tell that story."

"Huh? Why not?" Ryu asked.

"Would you like it if Haru or Reiko told everyone about how your shadow acted?" His dad asked him back.

"Huh… I'll shut up now."

"Ok, listen you three!" Dad spoke. "When it comes to battle, every Persona is different. It was strong points and weak points."

He quickly and simply explained to us how Persona attacks can be both physical and magical. And that magic is divided in 7 kinds: Wind (Garu), Lightning (Zio), Ice (Bufu), Fire, (Agi), Light (Hama) Darkness (Mudo) and non-elemental (Almighty)

"Rise, can you scan their Personas? We need to know them better if we want to make a strategy."

Aunt Rise began her scan, but I felt nothing.

"I got it. Ryu: His Persona is Lancelot, Chariot Arcana. It's strong with and against Garu spells. It can also use strong physical attacks. Weak against Zio." She informed.

"Sweet!" Ryu said.

"Reiko…" Aunt Rise got surprised and gasped, then looked at Dad who smiled but shook his head. She apparently understood. "Persona: Arthuria. Strong with and against Bufu skills and can perform various physical attacks. Weak against Agi."

"Haru. Persona: Arthur. Has an affinity with Agi skills as well as a good resistance to them. He can also perform physical attacks and is weak against Bufu."

"It seems you three have nice balance. That's good!" Uncle Yosuke said.

"I'm gonna ask this now. Why do we need weapons here if we have Personas?" Reiko asked. Smart question.

"Thanks for asking that." Dad said. "You see, there are two ways to fight using your Persona, or at least we've come up with two. First: When you summon your Persona and send it to fight for you. You saw us doing that the first time, right?"

The three of us nodded.

"Well, when you fight like that you avoid getting in the face of the enemy, but if they somehow get pass your Persona then you're an easy target. That's what weapons are for, to fend for yourselves until you can summon your Persona again."

"And the other?" Ryu asked.

"Second: You fight alongside your Persona. This one is a lot more difficult, since it requires a lot more concentration and coordination. You summon your Persona when you need it and dismiss it before it can take damage. It's good for one on one combat."

"I see… we need to be both mentally and physically strong, or else we fail." I said.

"Ha! Told you!" Ryu said. That's right… he always says this kind of stuff.

"Since this is your training, you'll be doing all the fighting. We'll just stand back watching and we'll intervene if things go wrong." Uncle Yosuke said. "Rise will provide support, feeding you information about the enemy."

"You can count on me, kids!" She told us.

"And since it's just you three, you need a squad leader." Dad said. "When you're fighting is not good that everyone does their own thing. You need to fight as a team and have someone to call the shots when it's necessary."

"I vote Haru for leader!" Reiko said… Wait what!?

"What? ME!?" This is not going to turn out well…

"Yeah, why not? Last time you were the one that coordinated us to survive against that huge group of shadows!"

"I wasn't even sure if that would work! It was the first thing that came to mind!" I was losing my composure but I just can't be a leader! I don't even know if I'll be able to control myself in battle. How am I going to lead a team!?

"Nope, Haru as a leader won't work…" Ryu said. Yes, thank you!

"Why would you say that?" His father asked him.

"Because Reiko's the one with cool hair! Like the protagonist from a game!"

Uncle Yosuke, aunt Rise and I literally facepalmed hard while Dad and Sis just blinked.

"You are kidding, right!?" My sister yelled at him, angry.

"O-of course I am!" He replied nervously.

"Get serious, Ryu! Do you agree with Haru being the leader or not?" His father asked him again.

"Of course I do. From the three of us he's the most coolheaded." You could not be more wrong, my friend, but I don't blame you. I discovered this side of me just recently.

"What do you think, Haru?" Dad asked me.

"I…" I looked at my sister and my friend. They trust me… Damn it! "Fine, I'll do it…"

"Alright, that's settled! Haru, you are the team's squad leader." Uncle Yosuke told me.

"Now, are you all ready?" Dad asked.

Reiko looked at her unsheathed cutlass and tightened her grip on it. "I'm ready!" She said.

"I'm ready!" Ryu said after giving some punches to the air.

Am I ready? Can I lead my sister and my friend in the middle of battle…? Who knows, but it's time to stop asking questions and start getting some answers.

I quickly unsheathed my longsword and threw the scabbard to Dad. He caught it.

"Let's go!" I said.

**A/N:** As I said, I had to split this chapter into two because it turned out far longer than I expected. Next chapter will come in a few more days. It's late now, and I need to re-read and edit it a little bit.

**Read, enjoy, and review!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Ok, so here's chapter 8! Not much to say here, other than thank all the people who read, review, favorite and follow!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

We had just finished playing our last volleyball game of the day in P.E. with my team winning 2 of 3 games. Some of us had to stay and clean the gym, and take all the stuff to the storage. Today was my turn, along with two other classmates.

I took the net and was taking it to the storage when I saw my brother running around the soccer field. Boy, he must be enjoying it… He doesn't like doing that and neither do I. It's boring and monotonous. I was lucky today since we played volleyball.

But today was a little different from other times. I could feel it… Running, jumping and even hitting the ball… Everything is easier than before. I might be because of all the training we've been doing, both inside and outside the TV world. We really are getting stronger. But that is easy to see… at least in the other world.

The first time we went in to train, with Dad, uncle Yosuke and aunt Rise watching us, we were a real mess.

* * *

We entered the castle. Dad's group was behind us while Brother took the lead of ours, formed by him, Ryu and me.

When they asked us to choose a leader for our team I HAD to suggest Haru. I mean, Ryu is no leader. He's too impulsive and would do the first thing that came to his head… Uncle Yosuke says he got that from his mother, which is weird considering she's a police officer…

I don't think I could've been the leader because I know nothing about fighting, not even the basics. On the other hand I'm good at taking orders, so I'm sure that if Brother tells me what to do I'll be able to do it.

Haru was the only option we had. But don't get me wrong! I'm not saying he's not capable, I really trust him, but I know he didn't want to do it. I feel a little guilty for pushing him into it, but there was no other choice. In the end he agreed and is now leading us through the halls of this huge castle.

"So this is the place where Mom got her Persona…" Haru said.

"And Dad had to rescue her from this place…" I said. "Hey, that sounds like some sort fairy tale! Dad's the knight who comes to rescue the princess from the fire breathing dragon!"

"Hehe… I guess…" Dad laughed awkwardly.

"Haha! And he even carried her out of here bridal-style, too!" Uncle Yosuke said, laughing hard.

"Wait, really!?" Aunt Rise and I asked at the same time, excited. "I never knew that!" Aunt Rise said.

"Good job, Yosuke…" Dad said, a bit sarcastically. "She was too tired to walk and she was wearing a kimono, ok? Now focus on the task at hand, please!"

"Ooh, you even remember what she was wearing! What color was it?" Aunt Rise asked teasingly.

"…Pink. But that's not the point! Focus Rise!" Dad said.

"Dad's right, we have to stay alert." Brother said. "Aunt Rise, anything we should be careful of?"

"Yes, there are two shadows at the end of this corridor, Haru." She said, regaining her composure.

"Alright, thanks. Since this is training I guess we should go fight them." Haru looked at Dad, asking for approval. He nodded.

"Then let's move!" Ryu said and began running through the corridor.

"Ryu, wait…!" Before I could finish that sentence, Brother brusquely grabbed him by the white shirt of his school uniform and pulled him back.

"Stay with the team, or consider yourself dead." He said those words calmly, but with a very serious tone. Serious enough that they completely paralyzed Ryu, and even me.

That's right… we could die here if we are not careful. Having the adults here made me forget that for a moment, but Haru never did. We already fought once and felt what a battle is really like!

Without another word Haru began walking slowly.

"Let's go." He said once he was ahead of us.

"Wow… he's more aware of the dangers of this place than we did when we started…" I heard uncle Yosuke say.

"Yes, but our first time in this world we didn't have Personas nor we met any shadows. He's fought before…" Dad answered.

"Yeah, that's true…"

After the short walk, we reached the end of the corridor where we could see three shadows.

We've seen shadows before, but they still surprise me… They are basically monsters and every one of them has different shapes.

I can recognize the ones in front of us, though. These are the big heads with no eyes, giant tongue and black stripes. They were just floating around until one looked to where we were standing.

"They saw us! Get ready!" Aunt Rise said.

"What? What do we do!?" I panicked. I saw the shadows coming right at us at full speed. I didn't know what to do. Do I summon my Persona? Do I fight it with my sword? Can I fight against it? I was paralyzed.

"REIKO!" Haru yelled. "Snap out of it!"

He put himself in front of me, and a card, with the symbol of The Fool Arcana, appeared in front of him and he crushed it without hesitation, using his right hand, his sword in the left hand.

"ARTHUR!" He screamed. The knight in red armor appeared above him and dashed toward the closer shadow, slashing it in half with his sword.

"Come on, Sis! Give me a hand here!" Haru said, looking at me. He flashed a smile at me as if saying 'We can do it'.

I nodded. Another card appeared, in front of me this time. It also had the symbol of The Fool. I slashed it with my cutlass and screamed.

"PERSONA!" I summoned Arthuria and she was now floating above me. "**BUFU!"** Arthuria sent the Ice attack in form of a small blizzard against the second shadow, dealing damage but it didn't kill it. Actually it looked like it barely took damage.

"What the hell!? It didn't work!?" Ryu asked.

"These shadows are strong against ice! You'll have to use other attacks!" Aunt Rise informed us.

"Alright then, let's see what you can do, Ryu!" Haru said.

"You got it!" The card of the Chariot Arcana appeared in front of Ryu and he crushed it with a straight punch. With the sound of shattering glass, Lancelot was summoned.

"Charge!" Ryu commanded as the green armored Persona charged at the shadow I couldn't kill, and pierced it with his lance.

"Only one left! You're doing great!" Aunt Rise encouraged us. Yes, this isn't so hard, we can do it!

"This one's yours, Sis!" Brother told me with a reassuring smile. I nodded. Confidence was slowly growing within me.

"Arthuria!" The knight in the blue armor dress dashed and swiftly made a cross shaped cut all over the remaining shadow, effectively taking care of it.

"Good job! You did it!" Aunt Rise cheered.

"This wasn't nearly as hard as our first battle, but the feeling is the same." I said.

"This was technically my first fight. I think we did pretty well!" Ryu said.

"Yeah." Haru agreed with him.

"Good job and great teamwork you three." Dad said to us.

"Let's keep moving now. You're not tired after just one fight, right?" Uncle Yosuke asked, grinning.

"Nope"

"Not at all!"

"Of course not!"

"Good, now let's go!"

We kept moving forward and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Dad told us to be careful since the inside structure of these places changes from time to time.

We found more shadows along the way and we tried different things with every battle.

"Reiko, try attacking that hand-shaped shadow with ice!" My brother commanded me.

"Ok!" I slashed the card and summoned Arthuria once again. "**BUFU**" The small blizzard did a lot of damage, although not enough to kill it. After the attack the shadow seemed weakened, like it was hard for it to move.

"A chance! Don't use your Persona, just attack it with your weapons!" Brother ordered.

"ALRIGHT!" Ryu yelled. "Whatever you say!" I agreed.

We all attacked at the same time and reduced the shadow to nothing. But before we could celebrate, aunt Rise shouted:

"Be careful! A big shadow is coming to us! It's too fast and I can't pinpoint its location."

"What? Kids, stay alert!" Dad shouted.

"We need to cover our backs!" Haru began. "Now, everyone-"

"Aaarg!" He was cut off by Ryu who screamed in pain while he was set flying toward a wall.

"Ryu!" I screamed, concerned.

"Urg, I'm fine!" He replied, weakly and obviously in a lot of pain. He wasn't fine.

"Damn it! Where is it!?" Haru yelled, angry.

"I can sense it now! It's up there!" Aunt Rise pointed to the ceiling.

We could see it now. A big, bird-like shadow was there and considering how it caught us by surprise and how much damage it did to Ryu, I think we can assume It's stronger that the others.

The shadow dashed again, this time bashing Haru with brutal power and then returned to the ceiling.

"BROTHER!" I screamed and got closer to inspect him. He took a lot of damage from that one hit. He was even coughing blood.

"Haru, Reiko, take Ryu and hide somewhere! We'll take care of this one!" Uncle Yosuke said.

"NO!" Haru yelled. "We can still do it! What good is it if we back down when things get complicated!?"

"If my brother says we can, then I trust him! Please let us try!" Yes, this is dangerous and scary… But I don't want to back down! I don't want to run away!

Uncle Yosuke stayed silent, but the shadow wasn't waiting. It charged quickly towards us, but Haru managed to avoid the full attack this time by rolling to the side and the shadow only scratched his left shoulder. I rolled to the other side, avoiding the attack as well.

"Aunt Rise, what can you tell us about this one!?" He asked.

I summoned Arthuria to slow the shadows movements. The knight tried to slash the bird, but missed every time. "Damn it! **Bufu!**" The Persona sent a small blizzard towards the shadow, but it did close to no damage.

"It's fast and strong against ice, wind and fire, the only weakness I sense in it is against electricity!" Aunt Rise informed.

"Oh, that's great! The one element we don't have!" Ryu, who had managed to stand up, said.

"This thing is too fast for us to fight it in this corridor!" I told Brother.

"Agreed! We have to come up with something!" Haru stayed silent of a few seconds, then, he apparently did come up with something. "Ryu, can you run!?"

"I'm fine, I already took my medicine!" He replied with a grin.

"Alright, then I need you to distract this thing for 10 seconds! Then run to the room at the end of this hallway, where Reiko and I will be waiting! Can you do it?"

"Heh, easy thing!" Ryu gave us a thumbs up.

"Wait, what are we doing?" I asked my brother.

"Just follow me." He said. I nodded. "Ready… NOW!"

The last thing I saw was Ryu's Persona being summoned and charging to the shadow with his shield raised. Apparently he succeeded in catching its attention because we had no trouble running to the empty room.

"Sis, listen to me" Haru said to me as we entered the room. "When the shadow comes through that door, I need you to try and slow it down. Can you do it?"

"I don't know if I can… That thing is strong against ice, remember?"

"What about another Persona?"

I remembered. Yes, Dad gave us something before we came to the castle. Maybe I can do it with that!

"Ok, I'll try." I said.

"Thanks." He said with a smile. "When I yell 'now' you'll dismiss your Persona, go it?" I nodded.

In a few seconds we could hear Ryu's voice.

"GET READY! I'M GETTING TRHTOUGH!" He yelled and quickly entered the room. It's time!

The blue card with the Fool symbol appeared in front of me, but it suddenly changed to the one with the Chariot symbol on it. I slashed it with my cutlass.

"SLIME!" I screamed. The new Persona, a shapeless blob of jelly, appeared above me and jumped to the bird-like shadow just as it came into the room, wrapping itself around it.

"What the hell is that thing!?" I heard Ryu yell, but now is not the time.

**"Evil touch!" **I shadow seemed very afraid now, and Brother noticed.

"NOW!" He yelled, so I dismissed my new Persona.

The card with the Fool symbol fell from the sky in front of Haru, but just like mine, it changed to other Arcana. The card was now from the Magician Arcana.

"PIXIE!" He yelled again, and crushed the card with his hand. The figure of a small, cute, fairy appeared above him.

"The hell…!?" I heard Ryu yell once again.

**"ZIO!"** Electricity began forming in the small hands of the fairy until it was big enough to send a lightning bolt to the shadow, doing damage and bringing it to the ground.

"Now, hit it with everything you got!" Haru ordered.

Brother and I switched back to Arthur and Arthuria and summoned them while Ryu summoned Lancelot. The three knight Personas charged to the shadow and pierced it with their weapons. After a few seconds, the shadow vanished into a cloud of black smoke.

The three of us sighed at the same time.

"We did it…" Haru said.

"We did… We really did! Haha!" You could hear the satisfaction is Ryu's voice.

"And all because of our teamwork!" I said, relived.

Suddenly we heard people clapping. From behind the door, Dad, aunt Rise and uncle Yosuke appeared.

"You guys did an excellent work." Dad said. "You stood your ground, made a strategy and worked together like a team. I am very proud of all of you."

"Excellent work, really. Good job kids. I thought it could be really dangerous for you, and that it would be best if we stepped in, but you proved me wrong and beat the shadow." Uncle Yosuke said. "But it really surprised me that the two of you have the same ability your father has…"

"I'm so proud of you all!" Aunt Rise hugged us three at the same time. When things like these happen it's easy to see where Kaori comes from.

"Hey, what was that?" Ryu asked, really confused. "Were those Personas, too?"

"Yes, we can switch Personas, like Dad." Haru answered. "But Sis and I share this power, she has half and I have the other."

"I have one more Arcana than you, remember?" I teased.

"Well, I guess this will come in handy!" Ryu said. "But man, a fairy? Haha, real manly…"

"Shut up, Reiko has a mucus for a Persona." Haru said.

"Urgh… Don't remind me…" Disgusting…

"Ok, I think that's enough for today." Dad said. "You guys need to rest." The three of us agreed. We were too tired.

So after being healed by Dad, using a Persona named Hariti, we returned home.

* * *

And that was just our first day of actual fighting. We've been going in every few days to train more and we've become a lot stronger, but we still have a long way to go.

Oh, and we also had to explain everyone else that we are Wild Cards, like Dad, but we omitted stuff like Philemon and the Velvet Room… Brother and I don't think they need to know that, nor they would believe that an invisible blue door is located in the Inn's garden…

I remember Mom was really surprised and also very worried about us. I can only imagine what kind of things she and Dad had to go through… The power of the Wild Card seems really complicated… but for now, all Brother and I can do is use this power the best we can! And that includes Social Links…

Margaret said that there were many Social Links already established for us, which seems logical. Since we've been living in Inaba our whole lives, we have many friends to who we are really close to, but she also said that there is room for improvement.

"Hey Reiko, are you done?" A girl's voice asked me.

I turned to see one of my classmates and a dear friend of mine, Emi Fuchida. She's smaller than me, has sort brown hair and wears small, round, glasses. Aside from being my classmate, she also goes to drama club with me.

We know each other since we entered highschool. She used to be very shy, and still is, but not as much as before. I suggested to her on our first year that we got into a cultural club together so she could work on her shyness. In the end she accepted and we got into Music Club (not the band) and it used to be pretty fun. I learned to play the violin there and Emi played the clarinet, but we quitted when the teacher in charge of the club left Japan when she was offered an opportunity to teach in a big music school in Canada.

That teacher, Ayane Matsunaga, was one of the best teachers I've ever had. She studied music abroad and returned to teach here. She was also a very good friend of my Dad. We were all very sad when she left, and so was Ayane-san, but it was too much of a big opportunity for her to let go. The teacher that came next was so awful that most people, including Emi and me, left and joined Drama club.

I recently discovered that Emi Fuchida represents the Priestess Social Link.

"Oh yeah, I'm done here!" I answered.

We went to the showers to clean up after all the exercise, making small talk on the way.

* * *

After classes were done, Brother and I were getting ready to go home, when Emi approached me.

"Hello Reiko, hello Haru-san." She said

"Hello Emi-san" Brother replied.

"Hey Emi-chan! What's up?" I asked her.

"Oh, I was just wandering if you wanted to go with me to Junes… there is something I need to buy and I would like your opinion…"

"I'm sorry Emi-chan… but I can't go. Our parents told us to go straight home today, since they need our help with something." I told her.

"Ah, I see. It's ok then." She said.

"Sorry I can't go…"

"Don't worry, I understand. Well, see ya!" She left waving goodbye to both of us and we waved back.

What I told her was not a lie; our parents really do need our help with something. Today's the day.

Today, the Arisato family is moving in with us! I actually feel excited about it. I think it could be fun.

The thing is that today we have to go and help with everything they might be bringing with them. Boxes and stuff like that.

On our way out of school we bumped into Takumi, Master Daidara's grandson.

"Oh hey! How are you two?" He asked.

"So far so good." Brother replied.

"You haven't had any problem with the weapons so far, right?"

"Nope, not at all." I told him.

"Ok good! Sorry, but I gotta go now."

"You're working with your grandfather today?" Haru asked him.

"Yeah." Takumi said. "Let's hang out one of these days." He told my brother.

Apparently, a few days after we bought our weapons, Takumi approached my brother to talk to him. Haru won't tell me much, but he did say that Takumi became the Magician Social Link! Who would have thought?

"Sure thing, bye." Haru said and waved him goodbye as Takumi left.

* * *

As we arrived home, we saw a moving truck parked close enough to the Inn.

"It must be them." I told Brother.

"Yeah, and either they didn't bring much stuff or they already got everything into the house." He said.

That's true… We could see inside the truck, where all the boxes should be but there not many left. Around ten boxes of various sizes were still in there.

Before we could go into our house to leave our stuff and begin helping out, we saw someone going to the truck to retrieve another box.

It was a girl, maybe around our age, with shoulder-length, brown hair which she wore slightly curled, with the tips resting on her shoulders. She was wearing a light pink tank top with short blue jeans and a pink scarf, darker than her top, around her neck.

She grabbed one of the boxes but apparently it was quite heavy, because she was having troubles with it.

Haru quickly went to help her before she could drop the box.

"Here, let me help you." He said as he grabbed the box. The girls seemed surprised to see my brother there all of a sudden.

"N-no, it's ok. I can do it by myself." She told him.

"Maybe you can, maybe you can't… but it won't hurt getting a little help." He told her, taking the box from her.

She must be confused; she doesn't know who we are and why we are helping.

"I'm sorry, we should introduce ourselves." I said. "My name is Reiko Amagi, and this is my twin brother, Haru."

"Hello." He said.

"Oh, it's you!" She said, realizing or maybe remembering who we were… Oh, wait! Maybe she's…

"Let me guess… You're Mei Arisato, right?" I asked her. I hope I'm right…

She nodded. "Yes, I am. It's very nice to see you again after… well, so many years." She said happily.

"Same here." Brother said, smiling.

"Yeah, it's been way too long!" I said, happy too.

I looked at Mei a bit more carefully and I thought I could remember a bit more of the days the three of us used to play together in the Inn's garden.

"Now, why don't we get this stuff inside and continue talking later. We'll have plenty of time." Haru said. Of course, he was still carrying that heavy box.

"Um… yeah, ok." Mei said. She tried to take the box from Haru, but he didn't let her.

"I'll take this one." He said and carried the box inside the house.

Mei sighed. "I could have done it…" I hear her muttered.

"Come on, let's get this over with so we can talk." I told her. She returned to her good mood and nodded.

She took another box, one lighter than the last, and I took another one, which was also very light. I read the inscription that said "Clothes".

We got into the Inn then made our way into the house. We saw a some boxes in the living room so we left there the ones we were carrying. As we though, there weren't many boxes here, either.

"Oh, you're home." We heard Mom's voice coming from behind us. "And I see you already met Mei."

"Yes, we did. Where's my brother?" I asked her. "He came in before us…"

"He left a box here and went to his room to leave his stuff." She answered. "Why don't you do the same? Then come to the kitchen, ok?"

"Ok." I answered.

"Mei, can you help me with something, please?"

"Of course, Amagi-san." Mei replied with a smile.

I quickly went to my room, left my bag there and then went to the kitchen. On my way there I met with Haru.

Once in the kitchen, we saw Dad, Mom, Mei and… those must be her parents. If they are, then I was right when I said that Minato-san had blue hair.

He was wearing a dark green jacket and black pants and had semi-long blue hair.

"Ah, there they are!" Said the woman beside him. She must be his wife. Her hair was the same color as her daughter's, only a bit shorter. They also shared the same brown eyes. She was wearing a jacket with a very light pink color and blue jeans. "It's been so long since I last saw you! You've grown so much!"

"People grow in 13 years, Yukari." Minato-san told her, laughing.

"I know, but still!" She said. "Oh, you might not remember us very well. He's Minato Arisato, and I'm his wife, Yukari." She smiled happily at us. "It's good to see you again."

"Hey kids. How've you been?" Minato-san asked us.

"Good enough. I'm not complaining." Haru answered.

"We're good. It's good to see you all again, too!" I answered. Although I don't remember much about them, I'm happy they are here.

"Let's get everything down from the truck and continue this later, shall we?" Dad suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's go." Minato-san said.

* * *

We took everything off the truck and proceeded to the living room to talk and catch up. Most of the talk involved past experiences, some funny and not-so pleasant moments of out childhood, like the time a barrel of red paint fell on top of me or the time Mei and I pushed Haru into the koi pond.

To our surprise, Mei remembered all of this very clearly.

"How can you remember all of that? It happened so long ago!" I asked.

"Mei has what some people call 'Photographic Memory'." Yukari-san informed.

"We only found out when she was six years old." Minato-san said.

"Wow, Photographic Memory…" Mom pondered. "What does it feel, Mei-chan?"

"Well… I don't really know what to answer you, Amagi-san-" She began, but was interrupted by Mom.

"Please, just call me Yukiko." She said.

"Very well, Yukiko-san." Mei smiled. "As I was saying… I've lived with the ability to remember everything, so all I can answer is that it feels normal."

"I can vouch for that." Brother said. "I've lived my whole life without the sense of smell, yet I have all other four senses. Most people don't get how I'm able to live without it, but for me it's a normal, everyday thing."

Yeah, Haru doesn't have a sense of smell. Weird, right? But he has all other senses, including the sense of taste, even though most people thing that if you can't smell, you can't taste.

"Really, no sense of smell?" Yukari-san asked. Brother nodded.

"Nothing at all?" Mei asked, too. Yeah, most people get surprised by that. And even most people who've know Haru for a long time, often forget about it. There have been many occasions when the Inn's head chef would ask Haru to smell something, only to be reminded, by brothers face that asked 'Are you kidding?', that he can't smell.

"Well… my nose gets itchy when there's a really strong smell, but I can't identify it."

"I see…"

"Well, Mei. From tomorrow forward you'll be attending Yasogami High along with Haru and Reiko" Dad said. "And it seems you're in the same class as them."

"Really!? That great!" I almost yelled, happy.

"Why don't we get everything in the appropriate rooms, now?" Mom suggested. "The living room will get uncomfortable with all these boxes lying around."

"You're right, let's get started." Yukari-san agreed.

"Can you start without us? There's something I need to talk about with Yu…" Minato-san asked them. Mom and Yukari-san nodded.

"Why don't we start with your room, then, Mei-chan?" Mom asked her.

"I-it's ok, I-I can take care of it…" She said, a bit hesitant.

"It'll be faster if we do it together, Mei." Her mother told her.

"The room is on the left wing of the house, let's go." Mom said.

Haru stood up and so did I. Mom, Yukari-san and Mei had already left the room and we were going to help them, when…

"Actually, I need to talk to you two, as well." Minato-san said.

"You had this all planed, didn't you?" Haru asked. He did not sound surprised.

"We can't talk about this in front of Mei… at least not now." Dad said.

"I don't like having to hide thing from people…" I said.

"Let's go out to the garden. We're less likely to be heard there than inside the house." Dad said. We all agreed and walk to the Inn's garden.

* * *

"I told you before that Minato's also a Persona User, right?" Dad asked. Haru and I nodded. "Well, there is also the fact that he's a Wild Card, like me."

"What!? Really!?" I asked, shocked. If Minato-san is also a Wild Card, then that makes us four, but…

"Like you…" Haru said. "Does that mean he's a full Wild Card, unlike us?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean with 'Full Wild Card'?" Minato-san asked.

"Unlike us, they can only use certain Arcanas each, but together they complete the set." Dad Informed.

"I see. Have you talked to Igor, lately?" He asked again.

"Not much, only to fuse a few Personas this past week." Haru answered. Yes, we're getting the hand to fusing Personas.

"Oh? Anything good?"

"Not really…" He said.

"Speak for yourself! I finally got rid of Slime and in its place I have Nata Taishi!" I said, happy that I don't have to use that disgusting jelly thing again.

"Can you hold on a second? I want to try something." Haru said with a lifted finger, and then walked behind a few sakura trees.

"What's he doing?" Minato-san asked.

"The Velvet Room's there." I told him. He must've already entered, but he's still outside… does that mean only our mind goes in while our body stays?

A few moments later Haru came back, and he was carrying something… a book.

"How long did I take?" He asked.

"Not more than a minute…" I answered.

"Ok, so time IS different in there… Good to know."

"What do you have there?" I asked him.

"Oh, this." Haru looked at the big book in his hand. "Margaret sends it. She said it was a present from her sister to you, Minato-san." And he handed him the book, which I now assume it's his own Persona Compendium.

Minato-san looked at the book and smiled sadly. Dad put a hand on his shoulder. Something must've happened that we don't know…

Minato-san quickly recovered. "Ok, that's enough for now. We can continue this some other time."

"Yeah, we better go help with the boxes before Yukiko gets angry." Dad said.

"And believe me; you don't what to see Mom angry…" Haru said and quickly left.

"Sadly, I have seen her angry…" Minato-san sighed while Dad laughed.

I wander what kind of stories they could tell us about their youth…

* * *

**A/N: **So, chapters are becoming longer and longer and I could finally introduce one of the characters that inspired this story, Mei! When the idea for this fanfic formed in my head, there were just three characters: Haru, Reiko and Mei.

Also, Social Links are beginning to show… but I'm having a rough time with them. So, if you have any ideas, feel free to PM.

Mei's photographic memory was a totally random idea, though, as was Haru's lack of sense of smell. The difference being that the idea for the last one came from me. I do not have sense of smell, yet I have the sense of taste. People find that weird and my own family forgets sometimes. I decided to go with this because I can just leave them there and play with them whenever I feel like it.

Remember, this is my first time writing so I'm trying all sort of thing. Next chapter I might try multiple POV's. I don't know how it'll go, but there is only one way to find out. Also, since I write as I go, there is some stuff that I forget to say. So if there are plot holes… tell me.

There haven't been almost any action scenes so far, and I apologize for that, but this is just the introduction. If things go as planned, there should be a good fight next chapter.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Many things to say here!  
**One:** I forgot to add a small, yet still important detail in Mei's description last chapter, so I edited it. (In case you don't want to go back, it's the addition of a pink scarf around her neck, darker than her top, that's all).

**Two**: Chapter 1 has also been edited because I'm an idiot. I was confused with the Japanese school system. I thought they were 4 years but apparently they are 3. So now, Yui is also a fist year and therefore, a year older.

**Three: **When it comes to Personas, I'll be using the compendium from Persona 4 Golden, meaning the personas will be following those Arcana (I might change some of them if necessary to fit with a plan I have in mind). Also, I might add new Personas not seen in Persona 3 and 4.

**Four:** I decided to add the music I was listening to when I wrote a certain scene. Because we all know that one of the things that makes battles epic in games is the music. You are not obligated to listen to these songs, but if you want to, there they are!

**Five: **THIS CHAPER IS THE LONGEST SO FAR! And also my favorite up until now. I think I did a good job here! But please tell me what you think. I could've divided it into two chapters but I really wanted to keep it as one.

**Six: Please Review!** I want to keep writing this story, I really do, but it's hard to find motivation when I only get one review. I want to know what you think! You think it's good? Tell me! You think it's bad? Tell me, too! Something that happened was interesting for you? Please tell me so I can do it again! Oh, and by the way A big thank you to** ADeadDiehard** for being such a fateful reader and reviewer so far! I always look forward to your reviews! Thanks!

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

I woke up as I heard the alarm of my cell and I looked at the time. 07:00… Wait, where am I? I got half my body up, sitting on the futon. Wait, I used to sleep on a bed… why am I on a futon? I moved the few tufts of my hair that blocked my view.

As I looked around the room I remembered. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I finally moved to Inaba and we are staying with the Amagis… not at the Inn, as customers, but at their own house.

The past few months haven't been easy for our family, especially for my father. He's had to deal with too many stressful situations. Some people even blame him for the company's failure just because he was a close friend of Mr. Tanaka, but there was nothing he could've done...

Fortunately, when it comes to our financial problems, we're still ok. My mother is a writer, not an extremely famous one, but all her published books have had great success. That and dad's savings have kept us good enough. But the most important thing is that we're together. It may sound cheesy, but at times like this, families must stay strong!

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Um, sorry to wake you, but we have school in less than an hour and if we don't hurry up Brother's gonna get mad…" I heard a girl's voice say. That's Reiko-san… THAT'S RIGHT! I START SCHOOL IN INABA TODAY!

I jumped out of the futon, grabbed my new uniform and opened the door.

"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep!" I told Reiko, who was already in her own uniform.

"It's ok. You must've been tired from yesterday." She said, understandingly. "In case you need it, the bathroom is at the end of this corridor, to the left."

"Thank you." I told her.

"Brother already made breakfast, so when you're done come to the kitchen." She told me as she left.

I nodded and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I was still very sleepy, but the shower took care of that. I quickly got dressed in the school uniform and added a pink scarf around my neck which my dad gave to me long ago. Since then, I wear it every day and everywhere. After that, I went to the kitchen, where I saw Haru-san and Reiko-san sitting at the table, next to each other eating breakfast. There were other 5 empty seats there.

"Good morning." I greeted.

"Mornin'" Haru-san said, sounding sleepy.

"Come on, take a seat."Reiko-san told me. I did as she said and took the seat in front of Haru-san. Reiko-san stood up and went to get more bread from the toaster.

"How did you sleep?" Haru-san asked me.

"Quite well, thanks for asking. But I did wake up not knowing where I was…" I laughed.

"I see, I guess that's normal." He smiled.

"Here you go, Mei-chan." Reiko said as she gave me two pieces of bread. "Coffee or tea?" She asked.

"Tea, thank you." I replied and she poured me a cup of tea.

"Good morning everyone." I heard Yu-san greet from behind me.

"Good morning." Yukiko-san said as I turned to see them.

"Hello, Yu-san, Yukiko-san." I said. Haru only waved his hand since his mouth was full.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad! Haru made breakfast today." Reiko said.

"He did? Thanks Haru." His mother said. Again, he waved as if saying 'no problem'.

We ate breakfast but mom and dad didn't show up. Yu-san said it was ok, that they must be tired. Lucky them, I would've liked to stay in bed a little longer, too.

"Damn it…" I heard Haru-san say in a very low tone as he looked at the time. "We'll have to take the bus today if we don't want to be late…" He said in a louder tone, now.

"Sorry, it was because I fell asleep, right?" I asked, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry, you were tired." Reiko said.

"Plus, if it hadn't been you, it would've been Reiko. I had to wake her up today, too." Haru said and everyone, except Reiko, laughed.

"Alright, come on! We'll be late!" She said, annoyed, and quickly grabbed her bag. "Bye Mom, Bye Dad!" And she left the room.

"_Sigh…_ Well, let's go." Haru said. "See ya."

"Ok, see you later. Bye!" I said and we left the Inn.

* * *

After a very short walk we were at the bus stop.

"By the way, it's around 25 minutes walking from here to school and 10 by bus, so we don't normally use it." Reiko-san told me as we waited.

A few moments later the bus came and we were getting in when…

"Oh oh…" Reiko-san said.

"What's up, Sis…?"

"I forgot Emi-chan's notebook… I borrowed it a few days ago and left it in the desk in my room!"

"Well, nothing you can do now, I guess." He said.

"No, she needs it today! I'll go get it, you two go to school without me!"

"_Sigh…_ Fine, but hurry up. Try not to be late, ok?" Haru-san told her as he got on the bus. I followed him and we sat near the back.

The atmosphere was a little awkward since neither of us was talking. Why does it feel awkward? We know each other since we were kids… then again, I'm the only one who remembers everything and it _was_ long ago.

"So, uh… anything I should know about the school, Haru-san? Any tips?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Uh? Let me think…" He assumed a thinking pose, putting his hand on his chin, which I found funny. "I can't think of much… just be careful of what you do or say on your first day. Rumors spread fast in a small town like this."

"I see, thank you. Though I can't think of anything that can make me the target of rumors…"

"Believe me, you're the new girl, they'll find something… even if it's not true." He sighed.

And he was right. The problem was that he was also dragged into these rumors with me. As soon as we got to the school, people were already looking at us and talking.

"I guess I should've seen this coming since Sis isn't here… _sigh._" Haru-san said. "Can't be helped, I guess. Well, welcome to Yasogami." He told me and I thanked him.

"Hey, look! Haru is with a girl! And that's not his sister!" I heard a boy say to his friend.

"Oh yeah! I've never seen her before… is she a transferred student?" She replied.

"I don't know, but she's cute… You think she's Haru's girlfriend?" Asked a third person.

There was a lot of talk around us as we made our way to the classroom. Most of it was related to if Haru-san and I were together… This is embarrassing. Haru-san just shrugged it off and advised me to do the same. He said that they'll forget about it in a few days. That helped me relax a bit.

"Damn it… Reiko is not here yet, and class is about to start." He said as we got into the classroom.

Once inside, I didn't know what to do. Where should I sit…? Haru-san seemed to understand my dilemma.

"Just sit next to me. It'll be better that seating next to a stranger at the moment…"

"Are you sure…? Don't you sit next to Reiko-san?" I asked.

"Nope, she sits with one of her friends."

"Won't the rumors get worse if we sit together…?"

"I told you, they'll forget about it in a couple of days. Don't pay attention to them." He said as he took a seat.

"Ok… thank you." I smiled and sat next to him. I could hear people talking already but I tried not to pay attention.

"YES! I MADE IT!" Reiko-san screamed as she entered the room. She seemed very tired… she must've ran a lot.

"Good, you made it." Haru-san said.

"Told you I would." She replied. "Oh, you two are sitting together? That's nice of you, Brother."

"Why does everybody make such a big deal out of it?" He asked to no one in particular.

"The teacher's coming!" A student said and everyone went to their seats. Reiko was just behind us.

The teacher entered the room and greeted us. As soon as I saw his face I recognized him. He's one of Dad's old friends! Even without photographic memory that face and blond hair are hard to forget.

"Bebe-san!" I almost yelled.

"Ah, Mei-chan! There you are!" He said, very fluently. Andre Laurent Jean Geraux, better known as 'Bebe', is an old friend of my father. They met in highschool and became very good friends in less than a year, from what they told me. I met him once before when I was 6 years old. Dad had business in France, where Bebe-san is from, and he said that he was going back to Japan, for good this time. I remember he still had problems speaking Japanese fluently, but I guess he has spent enough time here to get used to it. "Come here and introduce yourself." He told me. Of course he'd know I was here, he's the teacher. I nodded and went to the front.

"Um, h-hello…" I began… I was really nervous. "M-my name is Mei Arisato. I-I moved to Inaba with my family yesterday. Nice to meet you all." I bowed.

"Well, Mei-chan, as you see I am this class's homeroom teacher and the school's history teacher. You can go back to your seat now." And so I did.

People started talking again, but I couldn't make any sense of what they said. Bebe-san began the class and everyone went silent. I guess I should call him sensei from now on. Bebe-sensei really loves Japanese culture… maybe that's why he became a history teacher.

* * *

Morning classes went very slow… Only history was fun enough. After that class, Bebe-san waved me to go talk to him. He asked how my father and mother were, where we were living and such. Apparently dad doesn't know Bebe-san is working as a teacher here, so he asked me to tell him.

Now its lunch time and Reiko-san asked Haru-san if he could go and buy lunch for the three of us while she and I go to the roof. He protested at first but in the end he agreed. I felt bad, maybe I should've gone with him….

"So, what do you think of the school so far?" Reiko-san asked me once we were on the roof. No one else was here.

"It's _ok_ so far…" She looked at me oddly. Maybe she's wandering why I said it's been _'ok'_. "Well, it's not that there's anything bad, really! It's just that… Well, I just got here and there are already rumors going around…"

"Oh, the rumors about you and Brother… Yeah, that was bound to happen." She said. That's to see how fast rumors spread. "But it's a relief! I thought maybe Haru had done something wrong."

"No, of course not! He's been very nice! And I'm actually glad that he's not bothered by the rumors." I said. I felt guilty. All he did was walk into school with me and people are already talking. This happens everywhere, though, not just in Inaba. But this being a small town and school… I guess rumors spread faster here.

"Don't worry about Brother! This isn't the first time he's been the target of rumors, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Sure, he doesn't like it but he doesn't care, either. He knows it'll stop after some time."

We heard the door to the roof open. Haru-san came from it carrying three pots of instant noodles. Three more people were behind him, each of them carrying their own instant noodles.

"Come on, sempai! Tell me the truth!" A blond girl asked Haru-san. She looked a bit annoyed.

"I told you, they're just rumors! Will you let it go, Kaori!?" He answered, a bit angry.

"Is she Haru-san's girlfriend?" I asked Reiko-san, out of curiosity.

"Haha. She wishes, but no." She laughed softly.

"Ok, before we begin with the introductions, help me with these." Haru-san said, once they were close to us. "The fried tofu is yours, Sis."

"Yes! Thanks Brother!" Reiko-san said and she took her food.

Haru-san offered me to choose between the other two that were left.

"Soba or shrimp? Take whatever you like, I'm ok with any." He said.

"Then… I want the soba." He gave it to me. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now… Sis, do the introductions."

"Why don't you do it?" She asked.

"I'm lazy and hungry." Haru-san sat down, waiting for the noodles to cook. I giggled softly at that.

"_Sigh…_ Alright! Mei-chan, these are very close friend of ours. They are all first years." She told me. "This guy here is Ryu Hanamura."

"Hey, nice to meet you." He said.

"This is Yui Tatsumi. Don't let her stature fool you, she really is a first year."

"Hello." Yui bowed.

"And finally, this is Kaori Kujikawa."

"Hey!" She said with a smile.

"Kujikawa… Are you a relative of Rise Kujikawa?" I asked.

"Yep, she's my mom!" She replied, happily.

"Well, nice to meet you all! I'm Mei Arisato, I hope we get along well." I bowed.

"She and her family moved in with us yesterday." Reiko san added.

"Wait, what? She's living with you!?" Kaori-san asked. If what Reiko told me is true, then she must be jealous… This is not looking well… I haven't done anything!

"Yeah. Her parents, our parents and apparently all of your parents have known each other for a long time." Haru-san said, checking his noodles to see if they were ready. They were not.

"Wait, really?" Ryu-san asked. He nodded.

"That's what they said." Reiko told him.

We talked a lot while we ate lunch. We talked about all sorts of things so we could get to know each other better. They all seem very nice… I hope we can get along. Even Kaori, whom I thought might be somewhat angry at me because of the rumors, is being really nice to me.

"Hey, Mei-sempai!" Kaori called me.

"Yes?"

"Where were you living before coming here? I'm curious."

"Well, before coming to Inaba we were staying on a hotel, in Kofu." I told her. "But before that we were in South America."

"Wow, South America! Which country?" Yui-san asked, excited.

"Many countries, actually. We were in Peru, Argentina, Brazil… oh, but my favorite was Chile!"

"How did you go to school while traveling so much?" Reiko-san asked.

"Online classes and test." I answered.

I noticed that Haru-san had been very quiet for a while. He was leaning against the chain fence, looking upwards.

"Hey Haru, what's up, man?" Ryu-san asked him.

"The sky." He replied with a poker face. We all laughed except him. He kept looking up.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him.

"Uh? No, it's nothing. Don't worry."

"If you say so…"

"Hey Reiko-sempai, are you still coming over to my house tonight?" Yui-san asked Reiko-san.

"Oh, that's right! Of course I am!" She answered.

"What are you going to do?" Kaori-san asked.

"I have to prepare some stuff for drama club, like costumes and such. So Uncle Kanji and Yui are going to help me! Since there's not much time left, we'll have to pull an all-nighter, so I'm staying the night."

"Oh, if you want I can help, too!" Kaori-san offered.

"Really? That'd be great, Thanks!" Reiko-san said.

"_Sigh…_" We finally heard something out of Haru-san. "Hey, is everyone ready? Afternoon classes are about to start."

"Yeah… I'm done." Ryu-san said, not very motivated.

"Ok then, let's go." Reiko-san said.

* * *

After classes ended, we all parted ways. Reiko, Yui and Kaori had a lot of work, so they decided to go to Yui-san's house to start right away and Ryu-san said he had to fill in for a guy in soccer club. That left Haru-san and I.

"You don't mind walking back to the Inn, right?" He asked me.

"Not at all. I actually like to walk."

"Ok, let's go then."

We started making our way back to the Inn. While we walked, Haru-san kept silent.

"Are you ok, Haru-san? You've been quiet since lunch…" I asked him, worried.

"I'm ok, don't worry. It's just something that's been bugging me for a while, that's all."

"What is it?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." He said. Did I just ask something I shouldn't have…?

"Oh, I see… I'm sorry for asking…" I said. I couldn't help it, but I sounded sad.

"Oh, sorry that came out wrong!" He said. "I was just trying to say that's not a big deal, really! Sorry if I offended you…" He sounded guilty.

"I see… sorry."

"Stop apologizing so much, I'm the one who said something wrong." He told me. "Let's just forget about it, ok?"

"Very well." I said.

After a few more minutes of walking and small talk, we arrived at the Inn and we were greeted by Yukiko-san, who seemed to be on a hurry.

"Welcome home you two! Uh? Reiko isn't with you?" She asked.

"She's staying at Yui's place today." Haru-san replied.

"Oh that's today! I totally forgot…!" She sounded worried. "Haru, I need you to help out today. A big group of guest is arriving in a couple of hours and some rooms have not been cleaned yet."

"Ok, sure. Just let me leave my stuff in my room and get changed." He replied.

"Thank you, Haru."

"Um… If you want I can help out too, Yukiko-san." I offered. They are letting us stay here with them, I don't want to do nothing while everyone else is working. I want to help.

"That would be really helpful, Mei-chan, thank you!" Yukiko-san said. "Get changed into something comfortable, the Haru will show you the way… Oh, and this." She took a white apron and gave it to me.

I did as she told me and changed my uniform for a pink, tank top and white shorts. I also tied my hair up in a pony tail, so it doesn't get in the way. I added the apron and I was ready. I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey… are you ready?" Haru-san asked from behind the door.

"I'm ready!" I told him.

I opened the door and found him there, dressed in a red T-shirt and black trousers. He saw me too and I believe I saw him blush a little, which caused me to blush, too. He looked away from me to hide it, so he didn't see me blush.

"Come on, we need to clean rooms 21, 22, and 23." He quickly said and started making his way to the Inn. I followed him.

Once we got there, we saw mom and dad ready to help, too.

"Why don't you too clean rooms 21 and 22 while we clean room 23 which is bigger?" My dad suggested.

"Sure, I'm ok with that." Haru-san said.

It took us a while to clean the rooms. And at the end I was really tired… even though they were only two rooms.

"Well, that's it. We're done." Haru-san said. "Damn it… Sis got away from this. Doesn't matter, she'll owe us this one."

"Well, I'm tired… I think I'll go to bed for today." I said.

"Uh? Oh, ok. Good night." He said.

"Good night, Haru-san,"

After saying good night to my parents I went to my room, go the futon ready and I layed on it for a bit. I grabbed a small bag made of cloth. I was looking for something dad gave me before we came here. I couldn't reach it, though. Before I realized it, I was asleep.

* * *

**_Come, Mei… Come to me…_**

**_It's time for you to see me…_**

**_It's time for us to finally meet…_**

**_It's time for you to remember me…_**

**_You can't forget, yet you act like I don't exist…_**

**_You like high places, don't you…_**

**_I'll be waiting… _**

**_Don't be late…_**

* * *

Damn it… It's late, why am I here? Everyone else is sleeping. As soon as we finished cleaning, Mei was tired and went to bed. I did, too, but I couldn't sleep… So here I am again, still in my normal clothes, sitting at my favorite spot: The sakura tree next to the koi pond…

Apparently I made some people worried since I was quieter than usual today. I could have told them what I was thinking, but Mei was there, and we can't talk about Personas and the TV world when she's around… at least not yet. When are we going to tell her? How will we tell her?

That's not what worries me, though. What's keeping me up tonight… is the fact that it's been a week, yet nothing has happened since our Personas awakened. I might just be paranoid, but not knowing when the next strike will be worries me. We don't even know how they'll strike! No use worrying about it, though.

I heard someone walking through the Inn. Must be a guest taking a late walk, or something… I really should go to bed… or I'll be in a really bad mood tomorrow.

I stood up from the ground. Thankfully, since it's still summer, I can come out here at night without getting cold.

I heard the steps getting further away. I think he or she might be leaving the Inn… this late? I decided to go and check.

I calmly walked to the entrance, but I spotted no one. What I did see was the front door opened.

"The hell…?" I asked to the air.

I stepped outside to see if there was someone around. There wasn't a soul.

I checked the lobby, maybe someone got in… though I doubt it.

"Nope, no one's here…" I said. Still… I have a very bad feeling. I went to the front door again and stepped outside once more and began walking to the right. I don't know why… but something told me to walk that way. Instinct, maybe.

After walking for a while, I looked at the small, semi-hidden path that leads to the hills. The path is marked with stones and there are a few trees at each side. At the end, there is stairway to make the way up easier. I looked up to the stairs and saw someone walking up… who the hell is going up to the hills at this our!? I took a better look, since the person was far away… it's a woman… Oh crap.

"Mei!?" Is it really her!? That's the same clothes she was wearing earlier, minus the apron. "What the hell is she doing!?"

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me through the path and up the stairs, but Mei was still far from me.

"Hey, Mei!" I yelled. "What are you doing… Hey, are you listening!?" She didn't even look back.

I kept running and finally caught up to her. We were already on top of the hill.

"Mei, what are you doing here?" I asked her, a bit calmer. I examined her and noticed two things that seemed weird: First: Her eyes looked lifeless, second: she was holding a bag, very tightly. She didn't respond. "MEI!" I grabbed her shoulder but to my painful surprise, my hand was pushed back, and it hurt! Wait, I know this kind of pain… electricity! Is this some sort of **Zio** spell!? But… this is the real world!

"What the hell…!" I said out loud.

Suddenly, Mei stopped walking. She was in the middle of a small open field, at the very top of the hill with a few trees around.

"Mei, can you hear me!?" This is bad… I don't know what the hell is happening but it's bad! There is no time to go and get Dad or anyone! If I leave her here, who knows where she'll go, or what she'll do! I got close to her and tried shaking her back to consciousness, but the electricity kept shocking me back.

In a moment the air felt different, and time seemed to stop for a single second. When time resumed, the area around us turned into a combination of black and bloody red. It seemed to be some sort of wall. I tried touching it but my hand was painfully pushed back again. But this time it felt different… I haven't felt anything like this before, it's not an element…

"Almighty…!" I said. This field is surrounded by a non-elemental barrier, making it impossible to get out… and maybe even get in!

"DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" I shouted.

**_"Sigh…_**** It was all going so well… why did you have to come?"**

"That voice…!" I recognize it! I've heard it before and there is no way I'll ever forget it. "YOU!"

There it was again. That black gargoyle that pulled us into the TV world and almost killed us.

**"Things would have gone smoothly if you weren't here… This needs to be done in private, you know?"** It spoke in that macabre voice. **"But this might actually be a good chance to put _IT_ to test… Yes, I'll use you."**

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

Right after I asked, a big cloud of black smoke appeared from the ground and the banished, revealing a black armored Knight on a black horse. His face was covered with his helmet and he used a lance as a weapon. His horse had many weapons stored in bags at his sides. It reminded me to Ryu's shadow.

"What!? A Shadow!?" In the real world!? But… this one looks different. It looks more… Human. The shadows we've faced so far as to have a human shape… not completely look like one.

**"AAAARGG! Finally I'm free!" **HOLY CRAP! IT SPOKE!

**"I have a task for you, Shadow Horseman… I need you to kill that human there. But do not hurt the girl. I need her."** The Gargoyle told the shadow, apparently called Shadow Horseman.

**"As you wish, Master!"** Shadow Horseman got in a fighting stance.

**"You've been fighting at the castle recently, haven't you? I thought you'd be more comfortable with this kind of enemy."** He told me.

"How considerate of you…" I gritted my teeth. I have to fight that thing… Damn it! I don't even have my sword here!

**"If you win the fight, you will both be free" **Gargoyle told me. **"And if you lose… well, you will die and I'll keep the girl."**

"Like hell I'll lose!" I said that, but… I'm assuming I can also use my Personas here…

**"It'll be fun to see you Wild Card ability." **That answered my question. I can use them here! **"Goodbye."** With that he banished.

I braced myself to begin, but the shadow didn't move.

**"You do not have a weapon"** He said. Huh!? **"I cannot fight against someone unarmed!" **He took one of the swords stored in his horse's gear and threw it at me. I caught it. It was the same size as my own, but this one was a bit lighter.

**"Alright then! Let's begin!" **The knight roared.

I looked at Mei, she still seemed to be unconscious. Good, that way she won't see anything.

"Yes, Let's!"

_(I'll Face Myself –Battle-)_

**"AAARG!"** He charged at me with his horse. I managed to evade his lance by rolling to the left. **"Humph, you got good reflexes."**

I'm not gonna win just by dodging, I have to attack!

"Persona!" I crushed the card with my left hand and Arthur was summoned. He flew towards the black horseman and sword and lance collided. Not once, but two then three times he blocked my attacks.

"How can he use that lance so fast!?" I asked to myself, out loud. I'll have to try something else, then. My card floated in front of my and then changed to the Magician Arcana.

"Jack Frost!" I crushed it and the small, snowy creature appeared in front of me. "**Bufu!**" Jack sent a small blizzard against the horseman, doing good damage, but not nearly enough to kill it. That's it! Aunt Rise is not here, but I can see that this thing is very strong against physical attacks, so I'll have to use magic.

Shadow Horseman quickly recovered from the damage and pierced my Jack Frost with his lance.

"AARG!" Damn it! This guy hurts! A lot! I need magic, but with Jack Frost I'll be an easy target… Then… "Archangel!" I crushed the card of the Justice Arcana and an armored angel appeared. "**Dia!**" Archangel conjured a warm light and some of the pain I felt before was gone.

**"So this is the power of the Wild Card the master was talking about… Interesting."** He charged again, but Archangel deflected the lance with his sword, so I was able to avoid getting hurt badly.

"**Zio!**" My Persona sent a lightning bolt at the knight, doing a good amount of damage, just like the last attack. I dismissed Archangel for a while, having my Persona out all the time is too tiring.

Shadow Horseman took the chance and charged toward my body. I barely manage to deflect his lance with my sword, but I couldn't counter attack. If I get too close to him his horse can be serious trouble, so I got as far from him as I could.

This… this is thrilling. This fight is not like the ones we've had so far. He's strong… one wrong move could mean the end. But that's why… that's why I can't get carried away! I have to focus. One mistake here doesn't mean the end for me, only… but who knows what they'll do to Mei! I can't let that happen. That's why I have to be serious, and control my instincts.

Let's try a Persona stronger than Archangel when it comes to magic. "Cu Sith!" The Persona of the Sun Arcana, a green flying dog with big ears appeared. "**Garu!**" The gust of wind hit the Black Knight with even better results than the last attacks. It doesn't seem weak to wind, but Cu Sith is stronger in the use of magic.

Shadow Horseman attacked, but my Persona evaded. This gives me a nice chance! "**Rakukaja!**" A blue light enveloped me and my persona. This should make me resist his attacks. This is going well so far… Better not say anything, I might jinx it.

Now, let's try fire attacks. "Arthur!" The Fool Knight appeared above me after I crushed the card. "**Agi!**" Arthur began charging a small fireball in his hand and threw it against the shadow. It didn't do any damage. Even worse, it seemed to regain some energy… GOD DAMN IT!

Ok, I don't like to say it, but Arthur is useless in this fight. "Archangel!" I summoned the armored angel once again, since he's given me good results so far.

**"Sorry to say this, but you're not the only one who can perform magic attacks."** What…? **_"Mudo!"_**

Oh crap… Oh Crap… OH CRAP! NO!

Archangel and I were surrounded by the dark elemental spell, to which Archangel is weak to… Which means this spell will leave me unconscious for sure!

_(I'll Face Myself –Normal-)_

"Damn it! DAMN IT, NO!" I looked at Mei; she was still there, with the same lifeless eyes… What are they going to do to her…?

Am I really going down so easily?

I'm sorry, Minato-san, Yukari-san, I couldn't protect your daughter… I'm really sorry. She wasn't involved in this, for god's sake!

Sorry Mom and Dad, I failed… But what else could I have done? I don't know.

Everyone… I'm sorry. I'm leaving without saying goodbye. They're gonna be mad…

Sis, I… I'm sorry. Just, please, keep training with Ryu. You must not be weak, like me… You have to be able to protect the people you care about. Wait… Sis?

_We are not alone, Reiko. We have our parents, uncles and aunts… Heh, even Ryu. And even though Kaori and Yui don't have powers like us, I'm sure they'll be supporting us, no matter what._

Yeah… you have people who will support you, Sis. I trust you.

_If things don't go right we'll make them right. That's how it should work._

Those… Those are my own words. Yeah… I said that to Sis, didn't I. But right now…

Right now…

Nothing…

Right now nothing! I said that, didn't I? And I meant what I said! If thing don't go right I'll MAKE them right!

I AM NOT FALLING HERE!

_(Reach Out To The Truth)_

_"AAAAAAAHHH!" _I screamed my lounges out.

**"What!? What's going on!?"** Shadow Horseman asked. You're surprised? Well, so am I!

"**Survive darkness…**" I grinned. This ability helped me survive the attack, but now I'm weak as hell… I can barely move. "Just who the hell do you think I am!?"

"_GASP!"_ Huh? Who did that? Wait…

"Mei…?" I asked. Sure enough… there she was standing a few feet away from me, both hands in her mouth and as shocked as any rational person would be at this situation. She looked confused, or scared or surprised… well, maybe all of them at the same time. "Sorry… we're kind of in a tight situation here. I promise I'll explain everything once we get out." I told her, sounding very weak. Hell, I can barely stand up. I used the sword to help me up from the floor.

"What…?" She tried to ask something but couldn't finish it.

"Don't worry, I promise I'll get you out of here…!" I can't use Archangel anymore. Even though he's the one who saved my ass, I can't risk getting hit by **Mudo** again. "Jack Frost!" I crushed the blue card with the little strength I had and the snowy Persona was summoned for the second time. "**Dia…**" I felt some of my energy returning. Now I can move.

"What the…!?" Mei could barely get two words out.

**"You're not getting away this time!"** The knight charged against me once more. I quickly dismissed my Persona and evaded the attack. Since he charges on a horse, it's relatively easy for me to dodge his straight attacks. I summoned Jack Frost again to cast another **Dia**.

"Mei's awake now… what will you do?" I asked, trying to gain me some time by making conversation.

**"The master ordered me to kill you and leave the girl intact, so I'll do as he told me."**

"Well, aren't you obedient?" I asked a bit sarcastically. "You better keep you word and not get her involved!"

**"A knight always keeps his word, you should know." **Is he talking about my first Persona, Arthur?

"Yeah, I do." I answered. Good, she's safe for now. "**Bufu!**" Jack Frost sent the blizzard against the black knight, making it take a step back. "I already told you, Mei. I promise I'll get you out of here!" And I intend to keep that promise.

"I-I… I'm… n-not…" She tried to say something.

**"AAAARGG!"** The knight and his horse were coming in my direction, at full speed.

"I'M NOT USELESS!" Mei screamed. She quickly grabbed a box from the bag she was carrying, took out whatever was inside and threw the box away. Inside the box was a… GUN!?

"MEI!" I shouted. Since I got distracted I couldn't completely evade the attack that was coming at me, and the horseman's horse tackled me in my left shoulder. "AAARG!" I yelled in pain.

"I am not… useless…" Mei said again. This time, she was holding the gun on het temple. She was trembling.

"Mei! What the hell are you doing!?" I wanted to get close to her and take the gun from her, but Shadow Horseman wasn't making it easy.

"Per…so…na!" Huh…? What did she say? _BANG_ She shot herself and I went cold for a second. Then I heard a female's voice…

_"**I am thou… and thou art I… The goddess of love and war, life, and death… I am Freya!"**_

"A Persona…" I said. I couldn't believe my eyes. Right above Mei was her Persona. A beautiful female warrior in pink and white armor. Her helmet covered her face and she had a short sword on her left hand and a blue staff on her right. She also had big, bright, white wings.

Freya pointed her staff to the Knight and shot a powerful gust of wind against it, making it fly a good few meters back. She the pointed her staff at me and healed the rest of my injuries. Freya then disappeared and Mei collapsed to her knees.

I looked at the Black Horseman and saw he was staggering. There it is, an opening! "Thanks Mei, I won't miss this opportunity you've given me!"

First "Archangel! **Zio!**" HIT!

Second "Jack Frost! **Bufu!**" HIT!

Third "Cy Sith! **Garu!**" HIT!

And last… "Arthur! **Arm Chopper!**" HIT AND KILL! He was strong against physical attacks, but I still managed to take him down with that last attack.

**"I failed my master, but… thanks… for the… fight…"** Shadow Horseman said as he vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

"You're welcome…" It's the least I could say… Enemy or not, he fought with honor. The sword in my hand disappeared, as well.

_(End Song)_

The Almighty wall around us disappeared and even the atmosphere returned to normal. I was still night time, but who knows what time it is now.

Oh, that's right! "Mei!" I turned to see her. "Mei, are you ok?" I got closer to her. She was laying on the ground with her eyes closed…

"Hey, wake up… we have to get back to the Inn…" I tried moving her, but she didn't wake up. Well, at least she's alive. Summoning her Persona must have been too much for her. Plus she was in some sort of trance… Who knows what she went through…? The silver gun she used to summon her Persona was there beside her. I took it and put it back in the bag.

I guess I'll have to carry her… But I can't carry her on my back since she's unconscious. God, this'll be embarrassing if she wakes up…

"Please don't wake up until we're at the house…" I pleaded. There's only one way to do this… Carefully, I took her in my arms and carried her bridal-style. I felt my face heating up. Hey, I'm not doing this by choice, ok? Good thing it's late and no one will see this.

I began walking with Mei in my arms. We got down the stairs and were just back in the road, when…

"Urgh…" Oh oh… Well, whatever, she's alive. "Huh? Where am I…?" She asked. I stopped walking so I could check up no Mei.

"You woke up. How are you feeling?" I asked her, trying my best to sound calm and not nervous. She lifted her gaze and kept looking up at me for a few second before she realized the position we were in.

"Ahh!" She screamed as she blushed and buried her face in my chest to hide it.

"Hey, shhh! Calm down, ok? Here, I'll let you down, but stay quiet!" I said in hushed tones. She nodded.

She sat on the ground and leaned against a nearby tree next to the road. I crouched to get at the same level.

"Are you ok? How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"I-I… I feel tired… and very dizzy." She answered, putting her right hand on her forehead.

"I see… Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I don't think so…"

"Alright. Let's just get back to the Inn. You need to rest… and actually so do I." I feel more tired than I thought. I took some heavy hits in that fight. Gods bless **Dia**! I was about to stand up when Mei grabbed my wrist.

"Please… tell me what that was." She asked me.

"I will, but tomorrow. Right now you need to rest." When Ryu, Reiko and I awakened to out Persona, all we needed was a night's rest, but it seems like Mei was being controlled by the gargoyle… She even looks more tired than we were.

"No… tell me now. If you don't, then… I won't be able to rest well." She looked depressed. I stayed silent for a while, but the decided to speak.

"_Sigh…_ I'm just going to give you a basic explanation, ok?" She nodded. "The thing I fought against is called a Shadow… or at least I that was a shadow…"

"_You think…_?" She asked.

"The Shadows I've seen so far were nothing like this one. This one acted and looked more human, while the others are strange creatures that act on pure instinct."

She nodded.

"What I summoned to fight them, and what you awakened to in the middle of the battle, is called Persona. I don't really understand exactly what they are… but they are basically your _Other Self_, they are you. It seems that there are various ways to awake to one, though."

"What… happened? Why were we there? Why can't I remember going there?" So she can't remember…

"It looked like you were in some sort of trance. While you were walking you didn't hear anything I said…" Which reminds me… "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what was happening with you at this time? Did you feel anything?"

"I…" She hesitated. Seems like she doesn't want to talk about it. "I heard someone calling me…" Ok she's talking about it. "It was a voice exactly like mine, but it felt more evil… if that makes any sense."

"What did this voice say?" I asked.

"Stuff like: _Come to me,_ _It's time for you to remember me, you can't hide me,_ and… some other stuff." She finished. She sounded troubled.

"Well, it seems to me like you were being called by your own Shadow."

"My own Shadow…!?"

"A Shadow is a person's suppressed thoughts and feelings. Everyone has them, and therefore, everyone has a shadow. Once they are controlled by the ego, the Shadow becomes a Persona."

"Your other self… Shadows…" Mei muttered. She was really tired and was already falling asleep.

"Ok, that's enough for now. It's really late and you have to rest." I told her.

"Yeah… ok." She tried to get up her legs gave away. I caught her as she was falling.

"You can't walk…" I said.

"N-no, it's ok! I-I can do it…"

"Mei, it's ok to receive help from others from time to time. Take me as an example; if it wasn't for you I probably would've lost that battle, and not only that, I'd be dead. Being helped doesn't make you useless." Yeah, I thing I caught what she meant back at the hill. _I'm not useless_ she said… Must have something to do with her shadow…

"…Yeah. Ok…" She said, accepting what I told her. She smiled at me and I think I blushed again. What's wrong with me today!?

"So, yeah. I'll have to carry you back to the house…" I said. She blushed, too.

"I-I… well…"

"Come on, hop on." I told her as I offered my back. Now that I can carry her on my back it won't be as embarrassing…

She got on me and we began making our way back to the Inn.

"But you almost gave me a heart attack for a second there…" I told her. "When I saw you shooting yourself with a gun… What the hell was that?"

"I don't know… My father gave me that gun before we moved here with you. He said to always have it with me and that I'd know what to do with it when the time came."

"I see… well, I'm just glad you're safe now."

"Hey, why were you up there with me…?" She asked.

"To be honest, I had a bad feeling about tonight, and saw you walking to the hills just by chance, so I ran after you."

"I see… Thank you, Haru-san." She said and the kissed my cheek. I felt my face go really hot. Good thing she can't see me from there…

_*SMASH*_

**I am thou… Thou art I…** **Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Lovers Arcana.**

I heard many voices inside my head. This happened when I established the Magician Social Link with Takumi, too. These voices were different, tough.

"Lovers… huh?" I muttered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Mei asked me.

"No, nothing. But hey**, **can I ask you to please drop the _San_ in my name…?"

"Hum, ok… Haru-kun!" She said, happily. _Sigh…_ I guess that's better.

We got to the house and I carried Mei to her room, but stopped in front of the door.

"I-I… um… Will you be ok from here?" I asked nervously.

"What's wrong…?" She asked.

"It's just that… this is your room."

"Oh! Just help me in… I'll be ok from there."

"O-ok." I said. This room might have been empty two days ago, but now it's Mei's room. I don't like going into other people's rooms. I feel like it's invading their personal space. That's why Sis and I have a pact of not entering each other's room without permission. But since I got Mei's permission now, I guess I can get in. Doesn't mean I'm any less uncomfortable, though.

I opened the door and got in. I carefully left Mei on her Futon.

"So… yeah. Um, good night!" I said.

Before I left, Mei called me once more. "Hey, Haru-kun."

"Y-yes?"

"Thank you, again." She smiled.

"No problem." I replied, calmer now and smiled, too.

I closed the door behind me and stood there for a few moments. This was a weird night. A battle with a shadow that came out of nowhere in the real word… and Mei was almost abducted by the gargoyle. I looked back at the door to her room. Will she be ok? What if they try to take her again…? Since it was her shadow that called her in her dreams, I doubt it could happen again now that she has a Persona, but…

"Haru? What are you doing here?" I heard a voice coming from my right.

"Ah! Minato-san…" That's right, his and Yukari-san's room is close to Mei's room. "Can I ask you to check on Mei, please?"

"What? What happened?" He asked a bit alarmed.

"I promise I'll tell you everything in the morning. For now, please just see that she's ok. If possible, don't leave her side tonight…" I started making my way towards my room. "…She awakened to her Persona."

"What…!?" He asked, but he didn't wait for an answer. He got into Mei's room and closed the door. I feel better now, knowing she's with her father.

As for me… it's time to hit the sack. I'm way too tired.

* * *

**A/N:** It's kinda obvious what I tried to do here, isn't it? I hate to keep asking, but please review! I want to keep myself motivated to write this story! I don't want to leave it behind! But it's hard to find motivation when I don't get feedback. So please, to those fateful readers, give me your opinions! Let me ask you a specific question. ¿what do you think of my three main characters so far? (Haru, Reiko and Mei)

Well, still, to all the people who read, favorite, review and follow, thank you!


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I had a lot of work for university… in fact I still do. Plus, I had some troubles with this chapter. I didn't know how to end it! I just kept writing and writing! But I'm surprised it turned shorter than I thought. Oh well, I hope I did a good job here.

I realized something while I wrote this chapter. At first, the story I had in kind had the twins as the protagonists, but as I wrote these last two chapters, I realized that I actually want to write more about Haru… so I have mixed feelings about this. I'm a guy, so it's kinda obvious that I'm more comfortable writing about one, isn't it? I decided that the twins will still be the main characters, but Haru will be the main protagonists. Since this is my first time writing I think I'll stay in my comfort zone. This doesn't mean Reiko will get left behind or anything! I have plans for her, really! In fact, this doesn't mean much, only that the story will be a bit more focused on Haru.

Well, tell me what you think when you're done reading this chapter! **Thanks to all the people who reviewed last chapter! **Please, keep it up! It gets me motivated! And now, without further ado…

* * *

**Chapter 10**

So in the end I only slept six hours. But… I actually feel good enough, considering all the damage I took last night. When Mei and I returned home, it was already 3 AM. Good thing today's Sunday.

Usually when I sleep less than eight hours I wake up in a bad mood, but today it's different. Mei is alive and so am I, that's good enough.

I got out of the futon and changed my clothes. When I got to my room, I collapsed on the futon and fell asleep in the same clothes.

What I wore now wasn't much different than before. I have many red t-shirts and some black trousers. Yeah, I don't like to change that much.

I exited my room and headed to the kitchen. I'm too lazy to make anything right now, but I'm really hungry. There might be something left from yesterday…

I got to the kitchen and saw Mom making breakfast. Lucky me, I guess. She is nowhere near Dad's level of cooking, but then again, who is?

"Oh, good morning son." She greeted. "You're up early." She said a bit worried.

"Yeah, I woke up and I wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep anyways." I told her. "Where's Dad?"

"He needed to sort some business with the Liquor Store, so he went to talk to Konishi-san." She answered me. "Well, I'm making breakfast. Do you want some?" She offered.

My stomach growled. "Yes, please."

She served me some food and I ate it. It wasn't much, but it was enough to fill me.

I looked at Mom. She's trying to act like nothing has happened, but she knows something _DID_ happened last night. Minato-san must have already talk to her and Dad.

"How's Mei?" I asked her.

"She's still sleeping." She answered.

"And Minato-san and Yukari-san?"

"…They're still with her."

"I see… Mom, I know you know something happened last night, but it's important enough that everybody needs to hear it." I told her. "Can you call the Textile Shop so that Reiko, Kaori, Yui and her parents can come?" I'm assuming Kaori also spent the night at Yui's place, though.

"Yes, I'll tell your father to call the rest." She told me.

"Thanks Mom." I smiled.

She came close and gave me a good look. She put her hands gently at both sides of my head.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" She asked, concerned.

"My muscles are a little sore, but I'm ok." I told her.

"Are you sure?" She asked again. I nodded. She then hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry… We didn't do anything. We don't even know what happened… I'm so sorry!" Her voice almost cracked and she was about to cry.

"Mom, it's ok. Not even I knew what I was getting into. It's not your fault. Plus, nothing really bad happened." I tried to comfort her, but I'm not really good at this.

"Yes… You're safe, and so is Mei-chan." She smiled and a few tears fell from her cheeks. Damn… it's hard to see your mother cry."I'll go call the others, ok?" She said, with her voice still full with concern.

"Ok…" Mom kissed my forehead and left the kitchen.

She was really worried. I guess any parents would be in a situation like this. Mei's parents must feel the same way.

Mei… I wonder how she is. Should I go see her? Mom said that Minato-san and Yukari-san are with her, but…

"Oh, Haru-kun. You're awake." Yukari-san said as she entered the kitchen. "How are feeling?" She, too, was concerned.

"I'm ok. My muscles are sore, but it's nothing." I said. "Hum… How's Mei?" She smiled.

"She's in good condition, just very exhausted. I think she'll be sleeping till' tomorrow, though."

"I see. That's good."

"Why don't you go see her?" Huh?

"But she's sleeping…"

"Even if she is, I'm sure she'll appreciate it." She said. "Believe me, I know about this stuff." What stuff…?

"Well… ok then, I'll go." I was about to exit the kitchen when Yukari-san stopped me.

"Hey, Haru-kun…" She said.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She smiled. I didn't know what to say, so I nodded.

I got to Mei's room and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in." I heard Minato-san's voice from inside. Slowly I opened the door and saw Mei lying on the futon and Minato-san sitting cross-legged besides her.

"It's me." I said.

"Haru, good morning." He greeted.

"Good morning, Minato-san." Then I looked at Mei. She was soundly sleeping and her face looked very calm. "How is she?"

"She's good so far. I don't think she'll have any problems." Minato-san said. "I've seen many Persona awakenings, and even though the after-effects are different for each person, they're never fatal."

"…" I didn't know what to say. He gestured me to sit beside him, so I did.

"How was it?" He asked. "How did she awake to her Persona?"

"She… She used a gun. She told me you had given it to her." I answered.

"Yes, I gave her an Evoker in case she'd need it." He sighed. "Yukari and I are a little different from you all. We didn't face our shadows the way many of you did. So to obtain our Persona we had to give our natural potential a push. That push is shooting ourselves with an Evoker, a special type of gun, sending a sense of terror and stress through our brain, thus, allowing our Persona to be summoned. This doesn't work if you don't have the resolve to do it, though."

"Terror and stress?" I asked. Is that how they summon their Personas? Did Mei have to go through that, too?

"After a while you get used to it, and the feeling becomes almost natural" He told me. "I… I didn't want to give her that Evoker. But if it could mean the difference between her living and dying, then…"

"…I think you made the right choice in the end, Minato-san." I told him.

"You do?" It seemed like he wanted to know my reasons for saying that.

"To be honest, if she hadn't summoned her Persona I'd probably be dead…" I told him. "So in a way… thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" He asked. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. I still don't know very well what happened. Last night all Mei could tell me were the words 'Haru', 'Battle', 'Shadow' and 'Persona', before she fell asleep. I don't know what happened and you'll tell me all of it later."

"Yes, sir. I will." I said.

"But for now, all I can say is… Thank you, Haru. Thank you very much for protecting my daughter." He even bowed.

"It's ok, please don't do that! I-I… I'll tell you everything once everyone's here, I promise." I said. I really didn't know what to say to him. I guess, technically, I did protect his daughter, but I was fighting for my life, too. It's not like it was a selfless deed or anything. But… I did want to protect her, too.

"I need to talk to your father. Can you stay here and watch over Mei for a while?" Wait what!?

"Wait what!?" I asked, still remembering to keep my voice down so I don't wake her up.

"I don't feel good leaving her here alone… please?" But this is her room! Besides, what kind of father lets a guy be in his daughters room, with her, and alone! "It's ok, I trust you, Haru." Did he just read my mind?

Minato-san stood up and exited the room, slowly closing the door.

So here I am now, sitting next to an unconscious girl, alone in her room. This isn't awkward at all. I sighed. Minato-san said I protected her, and I guess I really did… She's alive and she'll regain her strength in a day or two... So why is it that when I look at her I feel like I didn't do enough!?

Maybe if I had been stronger, the fight would have ended faster, and she wouldn't have had to summon her Persona, and she wouldn't be involved in all this mess!

"Damn it…" I muttered.

I spent the rest of my time there mentally replaying the battle against Shadow Horseman, thinking of the things I did wrong and what I should've done. Not because I'm still dwelling over it, but so I don't make the same mistakes again. But I'm not Mei. I don't have photographic memory like her, so there is only so much I can do.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Um… yes, come in." It feels weird to allow someone into a room that's not my own…

"How is she?" Yukari-san asked me as she entered.

"Just like before, she's till sleeping." I answered.

"You should go to the living room. Everyone's already there." She told me. "Don't worry about Mei, I'll look after her. Minato will fill me in with the details later." She smiled.

"I see. Well, excuse me." I looked at Mei one last time and left the room, the headed to the living room, where everyone was.

"Hello-"

"Brother! What happened!? Are you ok?" As soon as I tried to speak Reiko ran to check on me.

"I'm fine, Sis." I told her.

"Are you sure, sempai?" Kaori asked.

"Yes, Kaori, I'm fine. Now-"

"Haru, what the hell happened!?" Ryu asked.

"Will you shut up for a second and let me talk!?" I yelled. They did and I sighed. "Thank you…"

"Haru, please tell us what happened last night." Minato-san said.

"I don't know if something like this has happened before, but yesterday… I fought a shadow… in the real world."

"What!?" "What are you saying?" "Is that possible?" Everyone, even some of the adults were asking these kinds of questions.

"I should start by the beginning."

I told them everything. From the moment I heard footsteps inside the Inn, to Mei's awakening and finishing with when I left her in her room with Minato-san. I told them about the strange, **zio**-like force field that surrounded Mei without hurting her, and about the **almighty** field that appeared out of nowhere. I omitted some stuff, though. Like me almost dying because of that **mudo** spell… I don't think my family would be happy to hear that. I also didn't tell them about how I had to carry Mei back to the house… That would just be embarrassing.

"How did you carry Mei-sempai here?" Kaori asked. Oh oh…

"How is that important?" Ryu asked her. Safe!

"Oh, it's important, but not for the reasons you'd think." Reiko replied.

"Anyway! What do you think? Has this happened before?" I quickly asked.

"Well, there was a time when shadows would appear in the real world, but it was during the Dark Hour, which has been long gone." Minato-san said.

"What's the dark hour? Or rather, was." Yui asked.

"It was a phenomenon that caused the day to have 25 hours instead of 24. Only some people had access to this time, Persona Users and those who had acquired the ability through artificial means…" He answered. "This cursed hour is gone now, so I don't know of any other way for the shadows to come into this world."

"This is really serious…" Uncle Yosuke said, "If they can appear in the real world at will, then we have no means of fighting them."

"I don't think that's entirely true, Yosuke-san. "Aunt Naoto said. "Haru-kun, you said the air around you changed when you were surrounded by the **almighty** field, right? And you were able to summon your Personas without any difficulties."

"Yeah, that's right." I answered.

"This is just a theory, but I believe that this field could be some sort of 'special area' where shadows and Personas can exist. I also believe our enemy has the means to create these fields."

"Now that you say that, the air did feel familiar… like inside the TV." I told them.

"That may be, but it doesn't change the fact that they can do something right under our noses, just like last night." Uncle Yosuke said.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Haru, who knows what might've happened. Good going, Haru!" Aunt Chie said.

"…" I don't know. It still feels like I didn't do enough…

"But aren't Shadows and Personas basically the same thing?" Uncle Kanji asked. "If they can do it, there must be a way for us to do it too, right?"

"These don't seem to be ordinary shadows, Kanji." Dad said. "You heard Haru. He said the shadow he fought could speak and almost looked human. There is something strange here, something that we haven't seen before." He sounded worried.

"So there is no way we can summon our Personas in the real world? The closer we are to that is Ted here!" Aunt Rise asked. What!? I feel there's something they haven't told us yet.

"And we don't even know much about that…" He added. Fine, I'll ask about it later.

"What if we ask Marie-chan?" Aunt Rise suggested.

"You're right. She might know something about this!" Mom said. "Where is she right now?" She asked Dad.

"_Sigh…_ China." He answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It'll take a while to get in contact with her."

"That's right… 'The Great Firewall of China' has grown stricter over the years." Minato-san said.

"What if we contact Fuuka-san first? She might be able to get us quicker access to the Chinese lines." Mom suggested. Who's Fuuka-san?

"She's in Australia, so there's not much she can do to help us from there… Legally, at least." He answered. What does he mean by that?

"We shouldn't ask her for anything that could bring her heavy troubles." Dad said.

"I'll take care of the paper work." Aunt Naoto said. "First we need to gain permission to access the Chinese lines and network. Then, we need to find Marie-chan and contact her."

"It shouldn't be hard to find the famous Mariko Kusumi." Aunt Rise said. Yeah, Mariko Kusumi is Aunt Marie's real name. The story they told us about her was almost unbelievable, and I still have a hard time believing it, myself. Supposedly, many powerful entities fused and gave Aunt Marie a stable body for her to exist in the real world. She's also supposed to be really powerful… and some kind of goddess.

"This could take from two to three weeks, so we'll have to be patient." Aunt Naoto said. That long, huh?

"And even if we do contact her, we don't know if she'll be able to tell us anything." Uncle Yosuke said.

"But there's nothing else we can do for now…" Aunt Chie said.

Silence and impotence filled the room.

"What are we gonna do?" Reiko asked.

"There's nothing much we can do. We'll keep training and from now on we'll be even more alert." Dad said.

"Al least now we know something about our enemy's method, but we are still in the dark about its objectives." Uncle Yosuke said.

"I think we're done for today… But remember, stay alert." Dad said and everyone nodded. We might not be able to make the first move, but we'll still fight.

But now I'm worried about Kaori and Yui. They don't have Personas, and that makes them easy targets. I made my concern known to Aunt Naoto, Uncle Kanji and Aunt Rise. Kaori is specially unprotected since her mother only has a support Persona, and her uncle and aunt don't even know about all of this.

Aunt Naoto told me she was aware of this, too. And since they live close by they'll keep an eye out for her.

Eventually everyone left. We had lunch and I went to my room, picked a book and laid on the couch to read. After a while I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Brother, are you there?" Reiko asked from outside.

"Yeah, I'm here." I answered.

"Can I come in? I want to talk to you."

"…_Sigh._ Fine, come in."

She opened the door, entered and sat on the free space that was left on the couch, looking at me.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I already told you, Sis, I'm ok! How many times do I have to say it?"

"Ok, I get it! But get in my shoes for a while! Something happened to my brother last night and I wasn't there to help him! How would you feel!?" She almost yelled.

"_Sigh…_ You're right, sorry." I guess I'd feel terrible.

"I was talking to Yukari-san about Mei-chan's condition." She said after a brief moment of silence.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She's still sleeping, but ok over all." She answered. "She said that you went to see Mei-chan earlier."

"Yeah, I did."

"She also said Minato-san left you two alone in her room for a while…" She said teasingly. "He must trust you a lot, now."

"Cut it out, Reiko! I was worried and I went to see her. I talked to Minato-san for a while and he asked me to look after her while he went to talk to Dad. Nothing else happened, ok? You happy?" I tried to suppress a blush that was coming to my face, but failed miserably.

"Ooh, you were worried about her?" She noticed this and continued to tease me, giggling.

"…Yeah, I was. And I still am." I told her seriously. She noticed my tone and stopped teasing. I said nothing after that and silence hit again.

"What happened last night that you didn't tell us?" Sis asked.

"You don't need to know…"

"Come on, I'm not asking to tease you or anything! Something happened and you don't want to tell me what. Tell Me! " Damn it…

"I…" I shouldn't tell her, but… "I almost lost. I… I almost died." She gasped. "I got hit with a **mudo** spell while I had Archangel out…"

"…"

"I managed to live, but at that moment I remembered something."

"What was it?"

"That if things don't go right, then I'll make them right!" I told her. "Sis, we're gonna fight, and we're gonna win." She smiled at me, the changed her expression for one of determination.

"Yes! We're a team, right?"

"Right."

We're not gonna lose. I'm not letting a Shadow defeat me. My sister and I are a team. We share the power of the Wild Card. We'll work together and we WILL succeed in whatever it is we propose ourselves. For the time being, that is surviving and becoming stronger.

"Hey, why don't we go see Mei-chan?" She said.

"I already saw her."

"But you said you're worried, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but what good will it do? All she needs to do is rest." I told her.

"Come on, Brother! It'll make her happy!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Urg, you're an idiot. Let's go!" She began pushing me out of my room.

"Argh! What the hell are you doing!?"

As she was pushing me, we ran into Minato-san and Yukari-san in one of the corridors.

"Hey, Reiko-chan, can we borrow your brother for a second?" Yukari-san said. Wait, me?

"Hum… yeah, sure." Reiko said.

They took me to the living room, sat at the table next to each other and made me sit in front of them. What's this about…?

"I already told Yukari what you said happened last night." Minato-san said.

"I know we already said 'Thank you', but when we did, we didn't know what we were thanking you for, so…" Yukari-san continued.

"What we're trying to say is… Thank you, again, but this time is for real. Thank you for saving our daughter's life!" I could feel the pain slowly growing in Minato-san's voice. It must feel awful to even think that your daughter could've died while you were sleeping. Then again… my parents might feel the same.

"Thank you very much. I don't think we'll ever be able to repay you for this." Yukari-san said in pain, too.

"I…" I don't really know what to say, so I might as well say the truth. "I don't deserve your gratitude. Like I said, I happened to see Mei just by chance. I didn't know what I was getting into… and once there I was fighting for my own life, too. So what I did wasn't a selfless deed or anything…" I looked to the ground. For some reason I can't bring myself to look at the when saying this.

"Haru-kun-" Yukari-san said.

"But…" I interrupted her and lifted my gaze. "When I was there, I really felt that I wanted to protect her and get her out of there alive. I can promise you that." They smiled at each other. "But I also want to apologize to you…"

"What do you mean…?" Minato-san asked.

"Maybe if I had been stronger the battle would have ended sooner and… Mei wouldn't have had to summon her Persona, and she also wouldn't be involved in all of this. I-I… I'm sorry."

"Haru… she would have been involved in this, no matter what. You said yourself that the enemy clearly stated that he needed her." Minato-san said. I nodded. "If anything, she now has the power to fight back."

"Let me tell you a little story that not even Mei has heard." Yukari-san said.

"Huh?"

"This happened two days after I met Minato." She began. "The dorm we lived in was attacked by a giant Shadow. At the time, Minato wasn't even aware of Shadows, Personas, or the Dark Hour, so he was completely confused as to why the whole building was shaking in the middle of the night. I went to his room and tried to help him escape, while our Sempai fought the Shadow. The problem was that the Shadow was right outside the emergency exit, so we had to go to the roof. When we were there, we saw this big Shadow climbing the wall. I had to fight, even though I had never summoned my Persona before, I knew I had the power to do it… but I couldn't. I was too scared to use my evoker and in my hesitation the Shadow knocked me back. The next thing I saw was Minato grabbing my evoker, putting it in his temple and summoning his Persona. He managed to take down the Shadows, but then he passed out and was sleeping for a whole week."

"Did you really have to say I was out for a whole week?" Minato-san asked.

"Yes." She replied. "The thing is that I was supposed to protect him, but he ended up protecting me and even becoming the leader of our group and its strongest member."

"Some things just happen, Haru, and there's nothing you can do once they're done." Minato-san said. "You can, however, work around them, like we all did. Look at your friend's parents, for example. Most of them didn't ask for a Persona, but once they got it they decided to not look back and fight."

"Haru, you saved Mei's life, and that's more than enough. We could not be more thankful and I'm sure Mei is thankful, too." Yukari-san finished.

I didn't say anything, but I smiled. They're right; I saved her life and my own, too. I should be happy about that. Also, Minato-san makes a good point. Now Mei has the power to fight back.

"Another reason for wanting to talk to you, Haru, is that I have a personal favor to ask you." Minato-san said. "Now that Mei has a Persona, she will find herself in even more danger, so she'll have to learn how to use her new power. Haru… I ask you this not as a Persona User, nor as a fellow Wild Card, but as a father. Please, look after my daughter."

"Me..!?" What!?

"What we're asking you is that you teach her to control her Persona and look after her during training." Yukari-san said. "Please. It'll make me feel a lot safer."

"I… don't think I'm strong enough…" I told them.

"Yes, you're not strong enough… yet." Minato-san said. "But I believe you have the potential to be as strong as you need to. You can achieve that along with your sister. Such is the trait of The Fool."

"The Fool…" I muttered. The first Arcana, the number zero. I remember Igor called it 'empty, but with infinite possibilities'. I still don't understand very well what this means, though.

"Very well, I promise. I'll do my best to look after Mei." If you ever find a way to refuse a pair of worried parents, tell me, because I couldn't.

"_Reiko, what are you doing_?" I heard Mom's voice right outside the living room.

"_Nothing, nothing! I was Just passing by_!" I heard Reiko answer. Yeah right… She was totally listening to the conversation.

Yukari-san started laughing while Minato-san shook his head. Sis noticed she'd been discovered and came into the room.

"Don't worry, Minato-san, Yukari-san!" She said, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Brother is the leader of our new squad. He's taken good care of Ryu and me, so I'm sure he'll have no problem looking after Mei-chan!"

I growled. "Why were you spying on us?"

"I wasn't spying! I just… happened to hear a bit by coincidence…" She tried to excuse herself. Mom looked confused.

"Very well, Reiko-chan. Hey, can I ask you to look after Mei, too?" Yukari-san asked Sis.

"Sure, no problem!" She nodded.

"Didn't you say you were going to see Mei-chan?" Mom asked Sis.

"Oh, that's right! Come on, Brother!"

"What? But I…" She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. "Argh! Let go of me!" I could hear the three adults laughing as we left the living room.

"Damn it Reiko! I'm serious! My whole body hurts, let me go!" I told her, and she did.

"What? You said you were ok!"

"I am, when you consider I had a fight with a powerful Shadow!"

"Well, whatever, we're here." Indeed, we were already in front of Mei's door. I sighed. I really don't see the reasoning behind coming here a second time, but I guess it won't hurt to check up on her again.

Sis knocked on the door softly, making sure that if Mei was asleep she wouldn't wake up. After not getting a response, she opened it and went inside. I followed.

She was still there, just like in the morning. The same peaceful expression was on her face. At least she seems to be resting well.

"She looks so peaceful…" Sis said, very quietly. I nodded. "It almost makes it hard to believe that you two were fighting for your lives last night."

"Yeah…" I said. She's right; it really doesn't look that way. Then again, I slept less than what I'm used to, but I woke up feeling pretty rested.

Reiko sat close to Mei's futon, while I sat further away, with my back on the wall. I realized I still had my book on my hand.

"Hey, Brother. How's her Persona?" Sis asked me.

"Her Persona is Freya, a goddess in Norse Paganism. I was curious, so I was doing some research." I showed her the book on my hand. It was titled 'The Sources to Old Norse Myths '. I opened it and browsed through the pages. "She's portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, but she's also associated with war, death and magic. It's said that she receives half the dead lost in battle in her hall, Folkvangr, while Odin receives the other half at Valhalla."

She giggled. "You really did some research." She said.

"You know I like to read." I replied. "If you want to know about her abilities as a Persona, I can't tell much. Only that she unleashed a powerful **Garu** spell and also a powerful healing spell. Oh, and her Arcana is The Lovers."

"…Wait, you know her Arcana!" She was surprised, but still remembered to keep quiet. "Does that mean you formed a Social Link with her?"

"Yeah…" I replied, not very happy. There's something I don't like about Social Links, but I'll talk about it with Dad some other time. Maybe I'll ask Minato-san, too.

"Lovers, huh…? Does that mean-?"

"No, it doesn't mean anything." I know what she's thinking. "If it did, Dad would have married Aunt Rise, who is also from The Lovers Arcana, and not Mom, who's from The Priestess."

"I guess you're right."

There was silence once again.

"_Sigh…_ I'm going to the garden. I don't feel very comfortable here…" I told Sis.

"Hey, but-!"

I stood up, gave a last look at Mei, and left the room.

* * *

"Brother…!" Reiko called for Haru one last time, still keeping a low voice tone.

_'What's with him…?' _She thought. _'I wonder… Maybe he likes Mei-chan and that's why he's uncomfortable here?'_

She thought about that for a while but decided to let it go.

_'Well, even if he does, I bet he hasn't even realized it yet, himself.' _She laughed softly. _'Oh, but what if Mei likes him? If she does, she's gonna have a hard time… Kaori couldn't stop worrying about it last night, thinking that the rumors at school might be true. I told her she knows him better that that.'_ Reiko sighed. _'I know Kaori likes him, but Brother only sees her as a little sister… It's sad and I feel bad for her, but it can't be helped. Brother, of course, is too oblivious to even notice this, so he just treats her like a younger sister. She'll have to get over it at some point… Yui-chan and I had the idea of looking for another guy for her… but who?"_

Following this line of thinking led her to a topic she hadn't pondered on in some time.

"A boyfriend, huh?" She said.

The first time Reiko had a boyfriend was in middle school. The relationship lasted for about six months before they both decided to break up.

_'That wasn't a very serious relationship… I think neither of us was really into it at the end. That's not the real reason I decided to break up with him, though. The real reason was that I felt like I was leaving Brother behind… I spent less time with him than I used to and I felt really bad about it. I even talked to him about it once, but he told me I was being ridiculous. He said that us being twins doesn't make us the same person. He said it meant that, even when taking different paths, we would still be together, like a team. We're siblings, partners, but not the same person. We have different personalities and we like different things. Sure, we share some hobbies, but that's normal. I remember Dad told us once that he and Mom wouldn't dress us with similar clothes because of this same reason, that we are two different people. I guess I forgot that for a while since it was still in my mind when I broke up with my now ex-boyfriend, but when I told Brother I had broken up with him and told him my reasons, he actually called me stupid! He said that if I didn't like the guy anymore, it was fine, but that I shouldn't use him as an excuse.' _She smiled. _'That's when it finally got stuck in my head. We are a team, but that doesn't mean we have to do EVERYTHING together. From that moment onward we started joining different clubs and seeing different people, but not for the sake of just doing different things, but because we wanted to and we could.'_

She laughed again. _'How did I end up thinking about this?'_

"mmh…?"

"What? Mei-chan!?"

Slowly, Mei started to wake up.

_'Where am I…?' _She asked herself. _'This is my room… That's right, last night-'_

"Mei-chan, are you awake?" Reiko asked.

"Reiko-san…?"

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Mei sat up on her futon.

"What are you doing!? You should save your strength!"

"Don't worry, I feel fine…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little dizzy, that's all."

"Thank god!" Reiko sighed in relief. "But you have the worse timing to wake up!"

"What do you mean?"

"Brother was here a few moments ago, he just left."

"He… was here?" Mei asked.

"Yeah, he came to see you in the morning first, then he came again with me. He said he was worried about you."

"He said that?" Mei blushed slightly. "How is he? She asked, worried.

"He says he's fine. Just a little sore, is all."

"I see. Thank goodness!" Mei sighed in relief, too.

"Everyone's worried about you." Reiko told her.

"I… I'm sorry."

"Hey, you don't have to apologize for anything! It wasn't your fault. Plus, nothing bad happened in the end."

Mei nodded.

"Hey, I'll go tell everyone you're awake, alright? I'm sure your parents will want to see you."

"Yes, please do." Mei said, smiling. Reiko nodded and then left the room, leaving Mei alone with her thoughts.

_'I still feel very tired.'_ She thought, while rubbing her eyes. _'But I guess I had it easy… Haru-san took all the hits. Wait, he told me not to call him that anymore!" _She giggled, but that made her head hurt. _'Ouch… I hadn't noticed that my head hurts, too. A lot of things happened last night, but it feels weird that I can't remember half of it. Haru-kun said I was unconscious, so maybe that's why I have no memories of what happened. What I do remember is hearing the same voice over and over in my head.' _Her expression changed to a mix of guilt and shame. _'That voice sounded just like mine… and it was saying all sorts of things about itself… while it proclaimed to be me.'_

**_I'm useless._**

**_ I can't do anything on my own. _**

**_I always need someone to help me._**

**_I want people to need me, but what good is it? I'm never able to help them!_**

**_I'm useless! YOU ARE USELESS!_**

Mei held her head with both hands and closed her eyes as these words replayed inside her mind.

**'What do you think now?'** She heard a female voice ask. It was very similar to the voice she heard last night, but this one felt different. Instead of evil it felt more comforting.

_'Huh? Did I just… hear someone?'_ Mei asked herself.

**'Yes you did.' **The voice said.

"Aaah!" Mei screamed. _'What the… Who are you!? Why are you in my head?' _She asked to the voice. This made her head hurt again, so she held it with one hand.

**'I am you… and you are me. We are always together… I am Freya… your other self… your Persona.' **Freya answered.

_'My… Persona…?'_

**'Yes. I was awakened recently by you. In a rather… forceful way, but awakened nonetheless.'**

_'You mean the evoker?'_

**'Yes. In a moment of desperation you faced your shadow. You faced ME and forcefully took control. I must say I am both impressed and pleased, Mei.'**

_'Wait… YOU are my Shadow?'_

**'Haru-san told you last night, didn't he? He said that Personas and Shadows are basically the same.'**

_'Oh yeah…he said that.'_

**'You still haven't answered my question. What do you think about yourself now?'**

_'I… It's true. I… didn't want to admit it, so I suppressed it. For many years I have felt useless.' _Mei began. She didn't really understand what was going on, but there was no doubt for her that she was talking to her Persona.

_'My family and I have to travel a lot because of Dad's work. We don't have a problem with that, and we actually like to travel, its fun. The problem is that, since we move a lot, I don't have any real friends. It's not that I have troubles getting along with other people… it's just that I never stay too long in a place to make a lasting bond. That's why… whenever I meet someone, I feel like they don't trust me. I feel like I can't help them with anything! I'm always the new girl, so, in most cases, people are very nice to me. If I have problems they are willing to help me, but when I see they have problems… I don't seem to find a way to help THEM because I don't know them.'_

Mei ceased her thoughts for a moment, and her Persona stayed silent, too.

_'There is one case that always comes to mind.' _She told her Persona. _'When I stayed in Australia for about four months I met this girl in my first year of middle school named Jennifer. She was really nice to me. She showed me around the city, sat next to me in class, we really talked a lot, but… we never talked about very important things. One day she didn't go to school, and nobody knew why. The next day I found her at the square, seating alone on a bench. She looked really sad, so I went close to ask her if she was ok. She didn't answer… I didn't know what was wrong with her, even less what to do. I tried to cheer her up, telling her that whatever was wrong would be fixed before she even knew it. Her response? She told me to shut up… that I didn't know anything… that I should keep my mouth shut. Yelling, she told me her parents were getting divorced and that she had to choose between leaving the county with her father or staying with her crazy mother and her baby brother. She either had to leave her whole life in Australia behind or stay with a woman who can barely take care of herself. I tried to say something but she yelled at me again, saying that I didn't know anything, that I didn't know how she felt because my parents are together and we were a happy family. She stopped talking to me after that and started to avoid me. A week later we moved again, to France this time. I felt useless… and hurt. I couldn't help someone… not even a little bit! Cases like this repeated many times… But I never felt worse than that time. Until…'_

**'Until…'**

_'Until last night… When I woke up to see Haru-kun struggling to keep himself alive. And in the middle of it, he kept telling me that he'd get me out of there alive! I couldn't take it anymore. I felt useless once again, but this time someone's life was in danger. That's when I decided that I had to change. I could still hear my Shadow, you, telling me I was useless. So I accepted it… at that moment I told you: Yes, I can't do anything, you're right, I'm useless. But I don't want to be useless anymore! So shut up and let me help him! I will help him!'_

**'Yes… you did say that.'**

_'I then used the evoker my father gave me… I don't know how I knew how to use it, but I did.'_

**'Your feelings for wanting to help someone and facing yourself were stronger that your fear of death. You pushed that fear aside and summoned me in order to help Haru-san… Impressive indeed.'**

_'So that's how it works…'_

Before they could continue their conversation, the door opened and Minato and Yukari entered the room.

"Mei, you're awake!" Yukari yelled and ran to hug her daughter.

"Mei…" Minato sighed in relief. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Just dizzy and my head hurts."

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Yukari said, still hugging Mei.

"Mom, dad… we need to talk." Mei told them

"I guess we have to, don't we?" Yukari sighed, not very pleased. Minato just nodded.

The Arisato family had much to discuss.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry I had to end it like this… it feels awkward, even for me. Well, I hope I did a good job here. I tried to explain many things in this chapter. Mei's shadow (How was it? Did it feel real?) a little bit of how evokers work and the first Persona-to-Persona User conversation. Oh, and also the feelings of the parents after such an event, but I think I didn't do a very good job there…

**Please tell me what you think! Your reviews keep me motivated to continue!**

I need to make things go a bit faster, or I'll never get to the scenes I want to write!


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I'm back again with another chapter, sorry for the delays. I have no excuses, I just had some writers block.

I hope I did well with this one, too. This one has a little bit of everything, but it's mostly about Social Links, since I hadn't done one of these, yet. Tell me what you think of it at the end, please! And thanks again to the people who reviewed last chapter.

Something important to note when reading this one is that you have to remember that, even though I'm writing in English they TECHNICALLY are speaking Japanese, so just keep that in mind.

PS: I hope to have ready a shorter chapter for this Sunday. It won't be anything big but still... Now, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

The summer heat enveloped the town of Inaba this time of the year, but for the group of six teenagers there was something much worse, something that caused all of them to share a collective sigh this Sunday afternoon at a table in the local Junes.

"It's already July, so that means…" Reiko said, gloomily.

"…Exams start next week." Ryu complained. He was wearing olive color trousers and a black T-shirt.

"Urgh, don't remind me." Kaori told him, her forehead on the table and hands at the back of her head. She wore a beige tank top and blue jeans.

"Think of it this way: right after exams we have summer vacations!" Yui tried to cheer the group up. She, herself, was wearing a blue, short-sleeved, light cardigan that matched her semi-long white skirt.

"Easy for you to say, you always have the best scores in from all first years!" Ryu said.

"That's because she studies, you know?" Reiko told him. She had her usual summer attire on: her sky-blue, short sleeved shirt and white pants.

"It's not that hard, you should try it sometime." Haru added as he leaned back in his chair and put his hands at the back of his head. He, too, was wearing his usual summer attire: A simple red T-shirt and black trousers.

Mei laughed. She had her pink tank-top on and her short jeans, as well as her pink scarf around her neck. When she was done laughing, she asked the twins. "What about you two? How do you do in exams?"

"We usually score on top, but Sis always beats me." Haru answered. "Not that I care, though."

"You're just too lazy to study!" His sister told him.

"Guilty as charged." He said as he raised his hand, as if was nothing.

"But you like to read, don't you?" Mei asked him.

"Studying for school is such a chore… It's not fun." He complained.

"Nothing for you is fun…" Reiko told him.

"But hey, Yui's right! After exams we have summer vacations!" Kaori said, excited.

"That's right! Which means more time to train, doesn't it, Haru?" Ryu asked.

"Huh? I guess…"

"Oh no you don't!" Kaori yelled at them both and hit the table with her palms. "We made a promise of going to the beach this summer, remember?"

"Yeah, we did!" Reiko said. "We have a lot of time. We can go to the beach AND keep up with our training."

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Reiko-sempai!" Kaori said and the two of them high-fived.

"Well, I guess we can run at the beach…" Ryu said.

"Is that all you think about?" Kaori asked him.

"Of course not! I also think about games. Which reminds me; I need to level up my Taekwon Master in Ragnarok Online 4."

"When did you become a Taekwon Master!?" Yui asked, surprised.

"Last week." He answered, proudly.

As Ryu and Yui continued to talk about the MMORPG they were playing, Mei wondered.

"Ragnarok Online 4?" She asked Reiko.

"It's an online game we're playing. You have a lot of different classes to choose from and kill monsters to level up. Although it's a squeal to an old game, it's like it came back to its roots."

"What do you mean?"

"First it was Ragnarok Online, then RO 2, which was a bit different from the first. RO 3 changed completely and didn't get much attention, but with RO 4, they kinda revived the game. It's very similar to the first." Reiko explained.

"Oh, I see. Sorry, I don't know much about videogames." Mei said.

"You don't like them?" Reiko asked.

"I don't know… I've never really tried to play. They've never caught my attention."

"Hey, I thought we were talking about out trip to the beach!" Kaori asked all of them, loudly.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Yui apologized.

"You're coming too, right Mei-chan?" Reiko asked her.

"I… hum… if you all don't mind."

"What are you talking about? The more the merrier!" Ryu said.

"Yeah, what he said!" Kaori agreed.

"Yeah, come with us!" Yui said.

Mei looked at the twins and they both nodded.

"Thanks everyone." Mei told them.

It's been a week since the incident with the Shadow at the hill. It took Mei two more days to fully recover her strength and start going to school again.

She had a long conversation with her parents in which they explained if full detail everything that was going on. They apologized for not being there when she needed them, and putting her in danger by bringing her here. She told them that it wasn't their fault. Mei understood the situation well enough to know that it could've happened anywhere, according to what they told her, and she believed in her parents.

She also already had her first trip to the TV world. THAT was hard to believe. A world inside a TV? Who would believe that? Well, she did. Considering the incident she went through, she could believe anything.

The day she returned to school, the twins took her to the shopping district, saying that they needed to buy something for her.

* * *

"Hum… Why are we here again?" Mei asked as she looked at the odd-looking store in front of her that was Deidara Metal-Works.

"Like we said, we need to buy something for you." Reiko told her. "At both our parents and your parents request."

"Let's just get in. You'll understand once you see what's in here." Haru told her. She nodded.

Once they were inside, they were greeted by Takumi instead of Deidara.

"Welcome to Deidara Metal-Works-" Takumi stopped once he saw who his customers were. "Hey, Haru, Reiko!"

"Hello, Takumi-san." Reiko greeted.

"Hey man."

"How've you been doing?" He asked Haru. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"We hanged out two days ago." He told him.

"Really? My sense of time is worse than I thought, then." He laughed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I've completely ignored you." He said to Mei. "I am Takumi Minoru. My grandpa is the owner of this store. It's nice to meet you, miss…"

"I'm Mei Arisato. It's nice to meet you, too." She replied.

"Mei-san… Why does that name sound familiar…?" He pondered on it for a while. "Oh, she's the rumored girlfriend but not-really-your-girlfriend you mentioned the other day, right?" He asked Haru.

"Huh?" Both Reiko and Mei were confused.

"Oh, sorry about that. It's just that the other day Haru and I were talking and I asked him about the rumors that are going around in school." Takumi explained as Haru sighed. "He explained the situation and he said your name, so that's why I thought it seemed familiar."

"I see..." Mei said.

"Not to be rude, Takumi, but we're here on business." Haru told him.

"Oh, that's right! Sorry." He apologized. "Gramps is in the back, making something. I'll take care of everything you need! So, what will it be?"

"We need you to tell us what weapon would best suit Mei."

"A weapon for me?" She asked.

"You'll need one from now on." Reiko told her.

"I see. Very well then." Takumi began to examine Mei just like he did with the twins and their friends some time ago. Once he was done, he told them what he thought.

"Let's see… You're totally not an In-fighter, that's for sure. Maybe something in the middle range? Or maybe… Oh, I know!" Takumi left them there as he went to the back of the store. Moments later he came back with something in his hand and showed it to them.

"A whip?" Haru asked.

"Exactly! A whip requires coordination and ability to be mastered, instead of strength." Takumi said. "With a bit of practice I'm sure you can get used to it." He told Mei and handed her the simple brown leather whip.

"Well… I guess I can get used to it." She said.

"How much is it?" Haru asked Takumi as he walked towards the counter to pay for Mei's new weapon. Takumi followed him, leaving the two girls alone to talk.

"Why do I need a weapon?" Mei asked Reiko.

"You said you wanted to fight along with us, right?" Mei nodded. "Well, you need a weapon aside from your Persona. You know, in case there's a situation when you can't rely on it."

"Well, that makes sense." Mei said. "Ok, I'll be sure to practice hard! I'll be a master of the whip before you know it!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Reiko encouraged.

* * *

Since that day, Mei would practice with her whip whenever she had some free time. She would go to the hill close to the Inn, where Haru fought that Shadow. The memories of that night weren't pretty, but she decided not to blame it on the place. One of the things she remembered her own Shadow said was that she liked high places, and it was true. That small hill was the perfect place for her to practice without disturbing anyone.

Sometimes, Haru or Reiko, or the two at the same time, would go with her. Haru sometimes even volunteered to serve as a moving target, saying it would help his own reflexes, too.

The day after the trip to the weapon shop, Mei had her first trip to the TV world. Thankfully, that first trip went by with little to no complications.

* * *

"Aaaaah!" Mei screamed as she fell through the back and white vortex that everyone, except her, was already used to.

"Huh?" Haru was already at the entrance since he was the first one to get in. He heard Mei's screams a little too late and when he tried to catch her she brought him down with her as they crashed.

"Oww…" She groaned in pain as she tried to get up from the floor. Seconds later she realized she was directly on top of Haru. He had his face looking upwards, but had his eyes closed, while she landed with her face towards him. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She blushed but quickly got up to check up on him, dismissing any other thought she might have had in her head. "Are you ok?" She asked him.

"Owwww…" Was his answer. He didn't sound too pained, but it was more of a whine.

Minato landed smoothly on the floor as he fell and noticed Haru on the ground and Mei at his side.

"Mei, what happened!?" He asked, worried that something had attacked them.

"I… I landed on top of him as I fell." She told him.

"Oh… Phew!" He sighed in relief. "Hey Haru, you ok?"

"I think…" He answered as he got up from the ground. "Good thing you're light." He told Mei.

Soon after, Reiko, Ryu, Teddie and Yu landed in the studio-like entrance. Rise was not able to come this time because she had business in Tokio, Yukiko had to take care of the Inn and Yukari stayed to help her.

While Rise was obviously no longer the teen-idol she once was, she till kept in contact with the world of showbiz, being a guest in some big TV program or working with her old agency's new rising stars.

"Listen kids, since Rise couldn't be here with us today, Ted will be feeding you information instead." Yu told the group of teens.

"You can do that too, Uncle Ted?" Reiko asked him.

"Yep! My nose's not as good as Rise-chan's Persona, but it can still be trusted!"

"We're counting on you!" Ryu said.

"So, where are we going?" Minato asked.

"Ted, do you smell anything weird in the sauna?" Yu asked.

"Sauna…?" Haru asked to no one in particular.

"Nope, everything seems normal." Teddie reported. "Well… normal as in 'full of aggressive shadows but nothing else' normal."

"Very well, we'll be going there. Lead the way, Ted." Yu ordered.

"Leave it to me, Sensei!"

As they walked, Reiko couldn't help but ask.

"We're training at a sauna…?"

"Yes." Her father replied.

"And… whose dungeon is that?"

"Kanji's!" Teddie answered cheerfully.

"Sis… leave it at that." Haru suggested. "I don't think we want to know what happened there."

"I… hum… yeah, ok." Reiko gave up, agreeing with her brother.

They arrived at the sauna-like dungeon and as they took a few steps inside, they could already feel the sweat rolling down their backs.

"Urgh! I haven't been here in years so I had almost forgotten how awful this place felt!" Yu complained.

"Agreed." Minato said, feeling the heat, too.

"If I knew we were coming to a sauna I would have changed my clothes!" Reiko complained.

"Yeah. I… I don't feel comfortable like this…" Mei agreed.

Both girls were in their school uniforms, as were Haru and Ryu. As time passed, they began to sweat more and more and it made their clothes feel sticky, a not very pleasant sensation. But for the girls there was an even bigger problem. They began to feel a bit… exposed. The sweat in their white shirts was making them look just a bit… translucent.

"Hum… Reiko-san…" Mei whispered to Reiko, who seemed to know what her friend was thinking.

"Don't worry too much. We have Ryu and Haru here…" She whispered back to Mei.

"That's exactly what I-" She couldn't finish because Ryu suddenly spoke.

"Yeah, I feel awful. Let's get this over with quickly so we can go home." He said.

Haru nodded. "Let's move."

The two boys didn't even notice.

"See?" Reiko said.

"…..are they…? You know…" Mei asked. She was just curious.

"No, they're just oblivious and their attention goes to Shadows when we're here, especially Brother."

"Oh, I see." She didn't show it, but she was a little relieved.

As they went a little deeper into the sauna, a pair of Shadows that looked like fat policemen with a big hole in their stomach could be seen walking around.

"Uncle Ted, can you pinpoint any weaknesses from those Shadows?" Haru asked. Something that Mei noticed was that Haru's voice tone had changed once they entered the sauna.

_'Is it because of the heat? Is he THAT annoyed by it? No… that's not it. He sounds a lot more serious than before, as if he was angry… No, it's more like… emotionless?' _

"I'm 'beary' sorry, Haru, I can't tell what their weaknesses are, but I can smell that they have one."

"It's ok, that's good enough." He said.

"Shall we do a small demonstration for Mei-chan?" Reiko asked to no one in particular as she readied her short-sword.

"That could be helpful. What do you think, Haru?" Yu asked his son.

He didn't respond. He silently drew his great-sword, threw the sheath to his father, who caught it with one hand, then nodded.

_(Song: Time to Make History.)_

"Let's go, Valkyrie!" He yelled as he crushed a card of The Strength Arcana. A female warrior riding a red horse was summoned. She had blonde hair and was wielding a sword in each hand. "Ryu, follow me! Sis, give us support from the back!" Haru commanded as he ran toward the Shadows.

"I'm right there with ya!" Ryu said. "Lancelot!" Punching the tarot card, the knight in green armor appeared and both Persona and host followed the squad leader.

"I've got you're back! Sylph!" Reiko said as she slashed the card of The Temperance Arcana and summoned a small fairy with long, blond hair and transparent wings. She wore green boots and gloves that matched her outfit of the same color. "Let's speed them up! **Sukukaja!**"

A green light enveloped Haru and his Persona, who was floating right above him. Just as the light faded, one of the Shadows aimed its revolver at Haru and shot, but thanks to the speedup, he was able to easily dodge the bullet.

"Thanks Sis! Now it's my turn! **Arm Chopper!**" Haru commanded his Persona as he aimed at the Shadow with his arm. Valkyrie ran to the Shadow. The swords in her hands were giving a blue light and with them gave a double slash to the shadow, but it wasn't able to finish it in one hit. "Damn it, the shadows here are stronger than I thought. Ryu, finish it off!"

"With pleasure! Aaaah!" Ryu yelled while his Persona charged and pierced the Shadow with his lance.

"Good going, there is one left!" Teddie cheered.

The remaining Shadow aimed his revolver at Ryu this time. It shot and Lancelot took the direct hit and vanished while Ryu fell to one knee, in pain.

"Ryu-san!" Mei yelled.

Both adults were still watching carefully the battle before them, ready to take action as soon as it was necessary. But they trusted the kids. Yu, especially, had seen them go through worse situations and come out victorious.

"Damn it! Sylph, **Dia!**" Reiko commanded the healing spell and a weak light surrounded Ryu, relieving him from the pain.

"Hump, that barely even hurt!" Ryu said.

"Don't get cocky on me!" Reiko scolded from behind.

Haru clenched his fist. He was angry at the Shadow and himself for letting Ryu get hit, but managed to stay calm and not lose focus, so no one even noticed.

"Change!" Haru aimed his hand to his Persona and Valkyrie disappeared in a blue light. A card of The Fool Arcana appeared in Haru's hand and he crushed it, bringing forth his first Persona, Arthur. "**Mighty Swing!**" The red-armored knight held his sword with both hands. The blade took a light yellow color and Arthur made a vertical slash through the Shadow, finishing it in just one hit.

"Yay! Great work guys!" Teddie congratulated them. "you did it!"

"A-amazing…" Mei said.

_(End Song.)_

"Ryu, you ok?" Yu asked the boy who had just gotten up from the ground.

"Yeah, sure. That was nothing!" He said, clearly not feeling pain anymore, thanks to the **Dia** spell.

Reiko punched him in the head. "I told you not to get cocky! Geez."

After a few moments they noticed Haru was panting a bit.

"Brother, you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm fine." He answered. He remained silent for a moment, then spoke again. "I'm sorry. I underestimated the Shadow's strength and made a reckless plan, and Ryu got hurt in the process. Sorry…"

"Yes, you underestimated your opponent and so you took the wrong course of action, choosing to attack the Shadow directly and summoning a Persona that was not suited for this fight." Minato said.

"Dad…" Mei tried to stop her father, but she couldn't.

"But you made up for it." Minato continued. "After you realized your mistake, you quickly changed your plan and the Shadows fell easily. More importantly, after the battle, you realized your own mistake. All you have to do now is make sure it doesn't happen again. That's how you grow stronger."

Mei smiled at her father's words, as did Reiko and Ryu. Haru had a serious face, full of determination. He nodded and thanked Minato.

Yu smiled. Seeing his son growing stronger made him proud. He looked at Reiko and his smile grew even bigger. Even though she's not a leader, she works hard for her team. She's capable of doing whatever she has to do for the sake of her friends. Yes, Reiko is growing stronger, too.

"But… are you really ok, Haru-kun? You're panting." Mei asked, concerned.

"Yeah… That last attack took a little too much out of me."

"You want me to heal you?" Reiko offered.

"Actually, why don't you try, Mei?" Yu said. "It'd be good if you get used to summoning your Persona before an actual battle begins."

"Hum… yeah, ok." Mei nodded. She drew her evoker from the simple holster around her waist. The gun holder was on her right side while her whip was hanging from her left side, wrapped around itself.

Reiko and Ryu had not yet seen an evoker, so they were both confused and alarmed when they saw Mei with a gun, and even more, aiming it point-blank at her temple. Minato told them it was ok, that this was the way they summon their Personas. That calmed them a bit, but still made them a bit uncomfortable.

Mei took a deep breath and shot. Seeing this made Reiko's body jump while Ryu took a small step back. On the other hand, Haru's eye only twitched, but he felt the same as his sister and his friend, and maybe even more. Sure, it's no easy to see someone shot herself, but he heard the explanation on how evokers work from Minato himself, and he didn't like to think that at the very moment Mei shot, feelings of stress and fear were enveloping her to summon her Persona.

With the familiar sound of shattering glass, Mei's Persona, Freya, was summoned. She was now floating above her host in her pink and white armor and her bright white wings were spread wide. She pointed the blue staff on her right hand at Haru, and the **Dia** spell surrounded him, making him feel better.

"Thanks Mei." He smiled at her. "We better get moving. It's time to see you in a real fight." He told her.

"R-Right!" She nodded. Her determination could be seen in her eyes.

They went a little deeper into the first floor of the Steamy Bathhouse and found themselves in front of a Gigas Shadows, one of those that look more human than the others and have very muscular bodies.

"It's just one. I don't know which one is it, but I can smell one weakness in it." Teddie informed. "Also, it seems to be very strong. Be careful."

"We will. Thanks Uncle." Haru said. His voice returned to be as serious as it was before. "This is what we're gonna do. Mei, open with a **garu** spell, the three of us will follow up from there, ok?"

"Okay!" The three other members of the squad agreed and got in positions.

Mei readied her evoker once again, holding it this time with her left hand in case she had to quickly draw her whip.

"Persona!" She shot once more and Freya appeared. The Shadow noticed and began making its way running towards the group.

"It's coming right at us!" Teddie informed.

"Yeah, we noticed!" Ryu yelled.

Freya aimed her staff at the Shadow and unleashed the most powerful **garu** spell the group of teens had seen so far. Haru then remembered that Mei did an attack just as powerful on the night of her awakening.

The shadow vanished in an instant, leaving only the usual black fog that is left once a Shadow is defeated.

"It… it was weak to wind…" Teddie said, blinking. He was shocked, and so was everyone else.

"That wasn't… a normal **garu** spell… right?" Reiko asked, still in shock.

"That was… _cough…_ a **Garula**…" Yu said. His fellow Wild Card at his side was blinking in surprise.

"With… one hit…" Ryu could barely believe it. "I've been outclassed!" He yelled, throwing his hands to the air. He was a wind user, too, but his spells were nowhere near as powerful as that.

"Oh, come on. You haven't been outclassed!" Reiko tried to cheer him up. "Sure, she's stronger with magic, but you're stronger in the physical area!"

Haru stayed silent, still in awe at the demonstration of power. He looked at Mei, who was just as impressed as everyone else. She was looking at her evoker, wondering if that attack really came from her.

_'You wanted me to look after her, Minato-san?' _Haru thought. _'Well, I don't think she'll need me too much._" He smiled inwardly. _'We might even rely on her a lot.'_

* * *

"Well, sorry to break it to you all, but we DO have exams before vacations." Haru told his group of friends as they were sitting around a table in the food court of Junes.

"Aww, now I'm depressed again." Kaori said.

"Hey Kaori, do you have the book we had to read for the English test?" Yui asked her friend. "I borrowed it from a classmate and already read it, but there is one thing I couldn't understand."

"No, I don't have it." Kaori answered. "I haven't read it yet."

"What!? But the test consists solely of that book!" Yui couldn't believe her friend, but then again, she should have seen it coming.

"Have you read the book, Ryu?" Reiko asked.

"It was short, so I already did, but I didn't understand a thing." He said. "It's too complicated for me…"

"Hey, let's go to the bookstore! I'll buy it there and let you borrow it, Yui!" Kaori suggested.

"You should read it first!" Yui told her. "But yes, we better go."

"I'll go with you." Haru said. "There's a book I'm looking for. You guys coming?" He asked the other three.

"Sure, I'll go. I might find something interesting." Mei said.

"I'll go too-"

"We're not going." Reiko interrupted Ryu. "I'm gonna help you understand that book!" She told him.

"EEH!? Right now!?" Ryu was clearly not in the mood for studying.

"Yes, right now! MOVE!" Reiko ordered.

The two of them said their goodbyes and left for Ryu's house.

"We better hurry to the bookstore, then." Kaori said and everyone nodded.

The group of now four teens got up from their seats and headed to the Shopping District.

* * *

Once in the Bookstore, everyone spread to search for what they were looking for.

Tired from searching, Haru took a moment and looked at his three friends in the store, then sighed.

_'The three of them are Social Links…'_ He thought. _'Kaori: The Sun Arcana. Yui: Justice Arcana. Mei: Lovers Arcana…'_ He didn't like it. He didn't like seeing his friends for their Arcana and the power they gave him. It almost felt like… he was using them. _'I refuse… I refuse to look at them like that. They are not just some source of power for me. They are my friends.' _And he truly believed that. If he hanged out with them, if he got closer to his friends, it wasn't because he wanted more power; it was simply because they are that, his friends, nothing more. This was truly like his heart felt.

He smiled a bit, satisfied that he could at least think like that and truly believe it.

"Hey, did you find your book?" Mei asked him as she approached.

"No… I was really just hoping they'd had it, but I kinda knew they wouldn't… It a bit old."

"What's the name of the book?"

"Sword Art Online - Phantom Bullet. Fifth book in the SAO series." He answered.

"I think I've heard of it…" Mei said.

"The first four books were turned into an anime some years ago." He informed.

"Oh yeah… A friend once mentioned it."

"_Sigh, _and I was looking for something to read, but nothing here seems interesting."

"Let's look for something else!" Mei suggested and began to browse a stand full of fiction novels. "OH!"

"What is it?" Haru asked.

"This book!" She took one from the stand and handed it to Haru.

"'_Thank you.'_" He read the title out loud.

"Read the author!" She said.

"_Yukari… Takeba?"_

"Yep! That was my mom's last name before she married my dad." Mei said, happily.

"Wait, your mother wrote this!?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I read it and it's really good! It's one of her best books!" She said, obviously proud of her mother.

"What is it about?" Haru asked, looking at the back of the book to see the summary.

"It's about a group of mages who work together along with someone from another world to save an old friend they have in common."

"Really? Then maybe I should read it. Sounds interesting."

"I think mom has some copies of it. I'll ask her if she can give you one, if you want." She offered.

"That'd be great, thanks." He smiled.

"Kaori, I found it!" Yui said.

"Really? Let me see it." Kaori took the book from Yui and browsed through the pages. "Oh, it's not that long. I can read it in a week!"

"Can I see it?" Haru asked.

"Sure thing, sempai!" Kaori handed the book to Haru and he looked at the cover.

"Oh, I read this in my first year, too." He said. "Yeah, it's not long, but not very easy."

"Really?" Kaori asked, demotivated.

"A little bit. The key to understand it is to see that the author uses many words as if they were verbs, even though some of them aren't. That can get you very confused. I think I picked that up in the third chapter."

"Oh, so that's it!" Yui realized something. "I couldn't understand some phrases because they seemed off, but when you think of it that way then it makes more sense! I need to re-read this book."

"Ok, thanks for the tip, sempai!" Kaori thanked.

"No problem." He said. "I wonder how Ryu and Sis are doing with it…"

* * *

"So then, what does he mean when he says 'Man Up'?" Ryu asked Reiko.

The two of them were in the living room of Ryu's house, located near the heart of Inaba. Reiko was helping Ryu study.

"You see, this author uses many words as if they were verbs, but not all of them are." Reiko explained. "When he says 'Man Up' he's using some sort of slang to say something like 'be brave and just do it!' or something like that."

"Oh… OH! Now I get it!" Ryu said in realization.

"Yeah, I had trouble with this book last year, too. If it wasn't for Brother, who explained to me the trick to understand it, I would have failed the test." She laughed.

"Well, thanks a lot, Reiko. If I fail exams, I'll never hear the end of it from my parents. But it makes me wonder… How do you think our parents did back when they were in school?" He asked, curious.

"Well, Brother and I were once searching through some old boxes and we found their report cards. On the year they were together here in Inaba, Dad always scored the best grades, and Mom was closely behind."

"Wow… Maybe I should search for my parent's report cards. Who knows, maybe they did horribly at school and I could tell them not to be so hard on me."

Reiko shook her head, smiling. There was no helping Ryu. School wasn't really his thing, but he did what he could.

She frowned a bit while looking at him. _'Ryu… Social Link of The Chariot Arcana. But you're more than that. You're my good friend, like another brother to me. You know that, right?' _She thought._ 'I've known you long before this 'Social Link' thing started. You're not just some source of power to me… you're my good and stubborn friend Ryu Hanamura. And that goes for all of my other Social Links, too!"_

"Why are you frowning?" Ryu asked her.

"Huh?" She realized she had been lost in thought. "Well, because of what you said! Your parents want you to do well in life! That's why they are so hard on you!"

"Yeah… I know." He smiled.

Suddenly they heard the sound of keys and the door opened.

"Welcome Home, mom." Ryu greeted his mother as she entered the house.

"I'm home!" Chie called. She was wearing her police uniform; a short-sleeved, light blue shirt and a knee-length skirt. "Oh, Reiko-chan! You're here."

"Hello, Aunt Chie!" She greeted.

"What are you two doing?"

"I'm helping him with the book for his english test." Reiko informed.

"That's nice of you, Reiko-chan. Thanks." Chie said.

"It's no problem!" Reiko said. "Were you working on a Sunday, Aunt Chie?"

"Yeah… I had to fill in because one of the rookies called in sick." She sighed. "Is your father not here yet, Ryu?" She asked as she went to the kitchen.

"No, not yet." Her son answered. "Which reminds me; Mom, how did you and dad do in exams at school?"

That question made Chie freeze right before getting to the kitchen.

"Well, hum… you see…" She tried to say. "We did… _well. _You just focus on studying, you hear me!" and with that she disappeared into the kitchen.

"I think you weren't that far off with your assumptions, Ryu." Reiko said and Ryu nodded.

* * *

Haru, Mei, Kaori and Yui finished their business at the bookstore and were about to part ways and go home when Takumi approached the group.

"Yo, Haru. What's this? Surrounded by cute ladies… Man, I'm jealous." He said, jokingly.

"Hello, Takumi-sempai." Mei greeted.

"Hello everyone." He greeted back. "You guys better be careful or you might start another rumor, haha." He laughed.

"What kind of rumor?" Yui asked.

"I think I have an idea… but…" Kaori said.

"Hey, don't even joke about that!" Mei told them.

"Meh, let them talk." Haru said. Like always, he didn't care about rumors.

"What are you doing?" Takumi asked, changing the subject.

"Just getting a book." Yui told him.

"And what are you doing, sempai?" Kaori asked him.

"I just finished helping gramps today. I was walking through here and saw you all. Thought I'd come say hi." He replied.

"I see."

"Hey, how are your weapons treating you?"

"I already got used to the weight of my sword. Now it feels more comfortable." Haru said.

"I'm still training with the whip, but I think I'm getting better." Mei informed.

"I train with Haru-sempai and Reiko sempai from time to time… but it's still hard to get used to my naginata." Kaori reported.

"I see. Well, if you have any problems with them, just let me know, ok?" The all nodded. "Hey Haru, do you have some free time? There's something I want to talk to you about…"

"Hum… sure." Haru nodded.

"Well, we should get going." Yui told Kaori. "I'm gonna help you with the book."

"Ok, thanks." Kaori replied.

"I should get going too." Mei said. "See you at home, Haru-kun! Bye everyone!" She said goodbye and everyone left, leaving Haru and Takumi alone. The later was now silent, for some reason.

"Wanna get some steak?" Haru offered and began walking towards Souzai Daigaku, the historical meat stand of Inaba where they sell the famous stake skewers. Takumi followed silently.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Haru asked once they arrived at their destination, sat at a table and had their food in hand.

"I thought you trusted me, man…" Takumi said. He sounded disappointed. "Al least enough to tell me the truth…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Mei-san told you _'See you at home, Haru-kun'."_ He tried to imitate Mei's voice, but failed miserably. "I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend when I asked you!"

"What the hell? I told you the truth, she isn't! She's just living at my house because her family moved in with us, that's all!" Haru told him, a bit angry, but not yelling.

"Oh, so you weren't lying?"

"Why the hell would I?"

"Yeah, you're right… Sorry, haha." Takumi laughed awkwardly. "But man, she lives with you! Imagine the rumors that would go around school if they found out."

"Please try not to tell anyone…" Haru said.

"I thought you didn't care about rumors."

"I don't, but Mei does. I just don't want her to have to deal with that kind of stuff on her first days at school, that's all." Haru replied, taking a bite of his steak croquette.

"Is it possible that, even though she's not you girlfriend, you actually like her?"

"You said you wanted to talk about something, didn't you?" Haru changed the subject, sounding very annoyed.

"Ok, ok… I was just curious!" Takumi laughed awkwardly again. "Anyway… I wanted to ask you something…"

"Go on."

"It's just… well…" Takumi hesitated.

"Come on, spill it."

"This is gonna sound a bit weird, but… have you… ever had… a girlfriend…?" He asked.

"Huh? Nope, I haven't." Haru simply answered, not making too much of a deal out of the question, partly because he didn't want to make Takumi uncomfortable, and also because he didn't think it was an important question.

"Really…?"

Haru nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that… neither have I." Takumi confessed. "I'd never given it much thought. I've always been doing different stuffs; school clubs, part-time jobs… and now I found that I really like the job of a blacksmith, so I always had my mind set on something else."

Haru kept silent and listened to his friend.

"Then we met and started to hangout sometimes. Then I heard the rumor that you arrived at school with you girlfriend and I started to think about it…" He thought about what he had just said for a bit. "Oh, but don't get me wrong, I'm not gay." He said, a bit calmer than how he was before.

"I wasn't thinking that." Haru said.

"Hehe… sorry. The thing is, I started to wonder why I've never had a girlfriend and I couldn't find an answer… What about you, why haven't you had a girlfriend before?"

"Me? I don't know… I guess I've never felt like I need one. I mean, sure, I like girls, but I've never felt… you know, THAT way about anyone, so then what's the point?"

"Hehe, I guess you're right. Sorry to bring out such a weird subject." Takumi apologized.

"Don't be sorry, I don't think it's weird."

"Thanks Haru. I don't know why, but I felt like I could talk about this with you…"

"Anytime." Haru said. "It's getting dark… I should go home."

"Yeah, me too."

They both stood up from their seats, said their goodbyes ad left for their own homes.

* * *

Haru decided to take the bus and, to his surprise, Reiko was already on the same bus he took.

"How did it go with Ryu?" He asked his sister, taking the seat next to her, by the window, since Reiko doesn't like to sit there, while Haru does.

"I think he understood how to read the book." She told him.

"Good. That book almost gave me a headache last year."

"Yeah, it was thanks to you that I passed that test."

Haru nodded but didn't say anything. He just looked out the window, lost in thoughts. His twin sister, of course, noticed.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing… I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Sis… what do you think about Social Links?"

"…_Chuckle."_

"What's so funny?"

"I was thinking about that exact thing today." She continued to chuckle, but stopped soon after. "The bonds we form with people are supposed to give power to the Personas we create, right?" Reiko asked and her brother nodded. "But it feels kind of wrong…getting closer to people just to gain power? I don't like that."

"I was thinking the same, today…" He sighed and closed his eyes. "I want to talk about it with Dad…"

"Yeah, I think we should."

* * *

They arrived at the Amagi Inn and went directly to search for their father. On one of the many corridors of the Inn, they ran into their mother, Yukiko.

"Hey Mom, we're back!" Reiko said.

"Welcome home you two. How was your day?"

"It was good." Haru answered.

"I had to help Ryu study, but it was good anyways." Reiko told her.

"I see. That's good.

"Hey, do you know where Dad is?" Haru asked him mother.

"I think he's in his office." She told him.

"Thanks Mom!" Reiko said and the twins left to see their father.

"Tell your father that dinner will be ready soon!" Yukiko said to the twins as they left.

The siblings exited the Inn and entered their house, then headed directly to their father's office.

Once there, Haru knocked on the door.

"Yes? Come in." Yu answered from the inside.

The older twin opened the door and found his father sitting in front of his desk.

"Hey Dad, we're home." Haru said.

"Welcome back." Yu smiled.

"Dad, are you busy now? We kinda wanted to talk to you…" Reiko told her father.

"Sure, I have time. What's it about?" He asked.

The twins looked at each other and Haru answered.

"Social Links."

"…I see." Yu sighed and looked at his son and daughter. "Let's go outside, ok?"

They nodded and followed their dad to the Inn's garden. They were standing next to the koi pond, looking at the fishes, with each of the siblings standing next to their father.

"So… what's on your minds?" Yu asked.

"Dad… What are Social Links to you?" Haru asked.

"They are the representation of the bonds I've formed with people, in the form of power…" He answered. "That's the easy answer, but I don't think I could explain very well what it truly means."

"Have you ever… seen your friends, you Social Links, as a source of power for you?" Reiko asked. For some reason she was a little afraid of what her father's answer could be.

Yu chuckled. "I have… many times. And in fact, I still do." This worried the twins, but before they could say anything, their father continued. "My perspective has changed, though. At first, I thought that hanging out and getting close to people would give me more power… and it felt weird, so I hesitated a little when it came to getting close to someone. But with time, things changed, and I saw things in a different way. Your uncle, Yosuke, became one of my best friends, I met Yukiko and fell in love with her after getting to know her better, I trained with Chie at the riverbed in Somegawa, I got to know Rise's and Kanji's true faces, I solved mysteries with Naoto… I met a lot of people in the one year I lived in this town." Yu turned to see his son and daughter. "It's true that at some point I saw my friends as if they were power for me, and I didn't really like it… But that point of view changed with time. It changed when I got saved countless times by Yosuke or the others from a Shadow attack that could've killed me, it changed when I found myself being a human shield for Yukiko against a **Bufudyne **spell while equipped with a Persona weak to ice… That's when I realized the truth behind Social Links."

"The truth?" Haru asked. Yu nodded.

"A Social Link is the representation of a bond between people, and a bond can't grow stronger if it's one-sided. In order for a Social Link to become stronger, the bond must be just as strong. Feelings of trust and care for the other person must come from both sides, and those feeling cannot be faked, I assure you. Yes, I still see my friends as my source of power, but it's different now. They're the reason I keep fighting, they are the reason I can stand up again if I fall. I fight for them and they are my strength. I fight for the two of you, too." He smiled at them. "You might not understand that now, but I'm sure one day you'll find the answers you seek for yourselves, as long as you two stick together as a team, like you've always been. I have faith in you two, not only as a fellow Wild Card, but as your father."

The twins seemed impressed. They were used to hear good advice from their wise father, but still, they fell a lot more at ease hearing his point of view on the matter.

"Thanks Dad. That really helps a lot." Haru closed his eyes and smiled.

"Yeah… I feel more at ease, now." Reiko sighed in relief.

"Glad I could be of help." Yu put a hand in their shoulders, as if telling them they're not alone, that he's here for them. They sated quiet for a while, just enjoying the silence.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Mom said dinner was about to be done." Reiko informed.

"Well, we better not keep anyone waiting, right?" Yu said, and the siblings nodded.

They went to the house and its seven current residents had a very lively dinner.

* * *

**A/N: **So? How was it? Believable? I hope it was, since I had some troubles with it, trying to put in words how I think Social Links work for the Wild Cards. I was thinking of making the twins ask Minato, too, but I figured a good conversation with their father was a better idea.

Also, some people are wondering how Minato escaped from The Great Seal… All I can say is: Soon(tm).

**Please don't forget to review! And thanks for reading.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Ok, I said I'd have a short chapter for today, and I'm glad I could keep my word. Plus, it really is shorter than the latest chapters (This one has around 3000 words). The reason for posting a chapter today is that… it's June 23, the technical birthday of the Amagi twins (in the future…) and also my birthday. So I wanted to post something just because.

The story's plot doesn't advance much (or any) in this one, but it has many of the scenes I imagined when this story was in my head. You'll see! I just hope I did good… I think I did.

**Thanks to the people who review!** Really, thanks a lot for the feedback. It helps a lot! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask in the comments or PMs, I'll be sure to answer.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

The usually tranquil town of Inaba gets even quieter at this time of the year. Why? All students are getting prepared for the week of exams that slowly approaches. Every one of them feels the pressure of having to score good enough grades, so they try and study in the way that's more comfortable for them.

Some of them stay in their houses to study, preferring a more familiar environment where they feel a lot more comfortable and can concentrate better.

* * *

"…Then I have to multiply these two. But wait, I had to resolve the parenthesis first, right?" Ryu asked himself as he _tried_ to study for his math test.

"AAARG, SCREW IT!" He yelled and threw his math book at the other side of his room. "MATH IS TOO HARD!" He scratched his head in frustration.

* * *

Others prefer to stay in school and study at the library. They feel that the silent environment is better for concentration. Besides, if you need extra information, the library is full of books and computers with internet access to search for whatever it is you might need.

* * *

"Kaori, stop checking your e-mail every 5 seconds!" Yui scolded her friend, whispering so she wouldn't make much noise in the library.

The two first year girls were sitting in front of a computer, each.

"But I want to know if some replied to my comment on Youtube!" She answered, in a not-so-low tone.

"I don't care, we're here to study! If you want to check your e-mail, do it at home!" She raised her voce a little.

"Come on, but we've been studying for hours now!"

"You haven't even read past the forth page of that history book!" Yui said, raising her voice a lot more now, in disbelief and pointing to the e-book on Kaori's screen.

"SHHHH! We're at a library here!" Someone said, whispering but still loud enough for the girls to her.

"Sorry…" They both apologized.

* * *

At the Amagi Inn, however… opposite things are happening. Some study hard while others are doing… other stuff.

* * *

Mei walked through one outside corridors of the Inn, the one facing the garden with the koi pond. After a lot of studying she decided to take a short break, going out of her room to get some fresh air.

"Ah, Mei-chan. What are you doing?" Reiko asked as the two ran into each other.

"Just taking a break from studying. Thought I'd get some fresh air." She answered.

"We're the same, then." Reiko chuckled. "I've been studying for who knows how long."

They walked together through the corridor until they heard the sound of a guitar. It sounded close and it seemed to come from the garden.

_(Song: Into The Wilderness – Wild Arms)_

"Wow… It's beautiful." Mei said, referring to the sound. Whoever it was really knows how to play the instrument.

"_Sigh…_ Is he still there?" Reiko asked to herself out loud. "He's been there since my last break, and that was two hours ago!"

"Who…?" Mei asked, but Reiko didn't respond. She just walked in direction of where the sound was coming from.

Just a few more steps and they could finally see it. The sound was coming from Haru, playing on an acoustic guitar in his favorite spot.

There he was, playing without a care in the world. He looked like there was nothing around him; he was in deep concentration, just skillfully playing the guitar.

A lot of the Inn's guests were standing in the corridor, hearing the son of the manager play. They were happily listening to the small and non-intentional performance, and now Reiko and Mei were among the audience.

Mei was impressed. No, more than impressed; amazed. She had met a lot of people while traveling, some of them were very skilled musicians and she could now count Haru among them. The way his fingers moved, how concentrated he looked, how the sound of every note was perfectly timed, and above all that, it seemed so natural to him.

While he was playing nobody said a word. Even Reiko, who was somewhat angry at her brother for being there playing and not studying, kept silent and enjoyed the show.

Haru, on the other hand, wasn't even aware he had an audience. There were not many people around when he started to play, and little by little, more people gathered around to hear him play. Every time he played the guitar, his mind was only into the music. He wouldn't notice the people gathering around him unless they'd come close enough to touch him.

Haru finished his song and everyone round gave him a big applause. He realized just then that he had an audience the whole time and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

The only one not applauding was Reiko, who actually looked a little sad looking at her brother.

"Reiko-san? What's wrong?" Mei asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." She just dismissed it.

"Haru-kun plays really well!" Mei said.

"Yeah… he got into it a few years ago. He learned by himself, though. I told him to get into music club with me on our first highschool year, but he refused. I guess it didn't matter, since things didn't go well for that club this year and I quitted."

"It's impressive that he plays so well even though he taught himself."

"Well, he has some years of practice."

"Do you play any instruments, Reiko-san?" Mei asked.

"Me? I learned to play the violin when I was in music club. How about you?"

"Well… I learned to play the piano when I was a kid, but I haven't even touched one in a while."

"Were you two here the whole time?" Haru asked, approaching the girls.

"Yep." His sister answered.

"Damn, this is embarrassing. There were so many people around." He sighed.

"Haru-kun… that was amazing!" Mei told him. "You're very good."

"Thanks."

"You must really like the guitar."

"No… not really. I like music and all, but not THAT much, anyway." He sighed again.

"What…? But… the way you played-"

"Brother, shouldn't you be studying right now? Exams are in less than a week!" Reiko told him, interrupting Mei.

"Yeah, I know… I'm going." He said and left with his guitar to his room.

"I don't believe it… he seriously doesn't like to play the guitar…?" Mei asked, more to herself than anyone.

"That's one of Brother's big problems…" Reiko said, somewhat sad.

"What do you mean?"

"He… he hardly ever gets motivated about anything."

"But… he has so many hobbies! Videogames, reading, playing guitar…" Mei said.

"Exactly. He has that many hobbies because he looks for something that motivates him, but nothing does. Sure, he likes to play games and reading, but I think that's because…" Reiko hesitated a little.

"Because what…?"

"…Because they take him to another world." They both stayed silent. "The only time Brother told me he was excited about something was when we started fighting Shadows…" This shocked Mei a little. "But even so… have you noticed how he is during training? He focuses in the fight, his voice and eyes are emotionless…"

Mei nodded. She had noticed this, too. It was different than when he rescued her in the night of her awakening… She didn't know exactly what was different, but it just felt like that.

"It's… It's almost as if…" Reiko tried to say something, but stopped herself.

"Almost as if what…?" Mei asked.

"No… it's nothing. I'm just making assumptions here, don't worry." Reiko smiled at her friend. "Just… Can I ask you to look after him? I'm a little worried."

"M-Me? I… hum… well… I…" Mei felt embarrassed. What did Reiko mean when she said that? She decided to dismiss that thought. _'She's just worried about her brother, that's all.' _She thought. But even if she agreed to help, she didn't really know what to do, or how. What could she do? She just met them again for the first time in years a few weeks ago…

There it was again. This was always her story. Never being able to help people, being useless… No, not anymore. She didn't know how, but she was going to help in any way she could.

"Yes, I'll try." She said, determined.

"But don't worry about it too much. There's only so much we can do. This is something he has to sort out himself." Reiko told Mei. "Just try to keep an eye on him."

Mei nodded.

"Well, that's more than enough rest for now! I better get back to studying." Reiko said. "You better get back and study, too! I want you to be my new rival in exams!" She told Mei.

"Ok, sure!" Mei said, a bit more cheerful. "But what about Haru-kun? Didn't he say that he's the one who scores second?"

"You can beat him easily! He's just too lazy to study." Reiko laughed, returning to her normal, more cheerful, self. "See you at dinner!" She said and left for her room.

Mei stood there for a while, looking at the garden. She wasn't sure if she could go back to study anymore, but had to at least try. She had learned something new about Haru, but this time it was something a bit… darker. Sure, he usually sounded bored, but she didn't thought it was THIS bad.

Sighing, Mei decided to go back to her room. Right now what she had to do was study… or at least try.

* * *

A couple of day passed since, but everything was normal. Like Reiko said, there was not much she or Mei could do to help Haru. And the problem wasn't just recent, so it was obvious it couldn't be solved in a day or two just like that. So for the time being, the group of six friends was once again at the Junes Food Court, gathered for a group study session. They were sitting at one of the big tables; the first years at one side and the second years at the other.

"ARGH! I still don't get it!" Ryu was about to rip his hair apart.

"It's not that hard, Ryu. Look, to solve this equation you have to-" Yui was teaching math to Ryu.

Meanwhile, Haru was helping Kaori with the English book. They were sitting one in front of the other.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on your own subjects, Brother?" Reiko asked him.

"Yes, I should." He simply answered and continued helping Kaori.

"You know, sometimes I wonder how you even pass your exams…" Reiko said.

"And with such good grades, too!" Kaori said, a little jealous of her sempai.

"Sometimes paying attention in classes is good enough." Haru told them.

Mei was silently reading through her history notes, highlighting everything that seemed important.

"Wow… Mei-sempai is really dedicated to her studies." Yui said.

"Huh, sorry, did someone call me?" Mei asked, having heard her name.

"Oh, no, sorry sempai! I was just saying that you're studying really hard." Yui told her.

"I guess I am… hehe." Mei scratched the back of her head. "It's just that… this is my first time in a long while that I have an exam in a school with other students. I don't know… I just feel a little nervous." Mei admitted.

"Oh, that's right; you were taking online classes, right?" Kaori asked. Mei nodded.

"I'm thirsty…" Haru said once silence was again present. "I'm gonna buy something. Anyone else want anything from the machine?" He offered.

"I'll take you on that offer. Can you bring me a lemonade?" Reiko said.

"I want an apple juice, please!" Ryu asked.

"A pineapple juice for me, please, sempai!" Kaori said.

"If you're offering… I want an orange juice." Mei told him. Haru nodded.

"Sure. And you, Yui?" He asked.

"Hum… I want a grape juice… Never mind, I'll go with you, sempai. I need a break." Yui said, and the two of them went to the closest vending machine to get their drinks.

Reiko chuckled.

"What so funny?" Mei asked.

"Nothing. It's just that orange juice is brother's favorite, too."

"R-Really?"

"Yep, you'll see him come back with a can of orange juice for himself."

"Ryu, give me my pencil!" Kaori yelled, occupied in a fight with Ryu.

"Come on, I just want to see it." Ryu said. "Oh, cool, it can change from phosphorescent ink to normal ink!"

As the two of them fought, Reiko and Mei sweatdroped, looking at the scene.

Meanwhile, Haru and Yui were buying the drinks from the expending machine.

"Thanks for helping me, Yui." Haru said, as he passed Yui a second canned juice.

"It's no problem, sempai. I really needed a break." She said, sounding tired.

"Ryu giving you trouble?" He asked.

"It's not that he doesn't try, but he and math just seem to repel each other!"

"Yep, I know… I've tried to teach him a few times, but I'm not really good at math, myself." He said. "One thing that did work, though, was try using numbers from videogames stats."

"What?"

"Like… telling him that if his Ragnarok character has an attack parameter of 230 and his enemy has 145 armor, how much damage will the enemy take in one hit if no kind of armor penetration is included." Haru gave an example. "This is just a basic example, but it's the first thing I thought of."

"I see… you're right, sempai! That might work, thanks!" Yui said.

"Nothing to thank me about, he's the one who should thank you for trying to teach him."

"Don't worry, he does."

They finished buying their drinks and made their way back to the table.

"Hey sempai, how's your RO 4 character?" Yui asked, now that the topic of Ragnarok 4 was out.

"My gunslinger? Fully leveled, just need to get the right equipment."

"ALREADY? Wow… you're good."

"It's easy once you get the hang of it." Haru said.

"By the way, sempai… Why a gunslinger?"

"I don't know… Nobody uses them, they say it's weak, seemed like a challenge." He explained.

"I see. Figures you'd do something like that." Yui chuckled.

"What, what did sempai do?" Kaori asked, once they were at the table.

"Choosing a gunslinger in RO 4. He says he did it because it's like a challenge." Yui explained as she handed half the drinks and Haru handed the others.

When he handed Mei her orange juice, both she and Reiko noticed that Haru's drink was also an orange juice. They looked at each other and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Haru asked.

"_Snrk…_ Nothing…." They said, trying to suppress laughter.

"Okay." Haru answered, not giving it any more importance.

The group continued to study, with Ryu understanding a bit more than before.

* * *

It was Sunday once again and also the last day before the week of exams began.

At the Amagi Inn, Haru was at his spot again, reading under the shade of the sakura tree.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" Mei said in a scolding manner, standing in front of a seated Haru, with her hands in her hips.

"What about you?" Haru asked back without taking his eyes off his book.

"I'm taking a short break." Mei answered. "Have you really studied enough?"

"I have, and you study too much." He said. "Seriously, from school to your room and you only take five minute breaks… That's just too much. If you don't rest enough, then what's the point of studying so much?"

"I guess you're right…" Mei sighed. "Reiko-san told me something similar the other day…"

"Besides, it's the last day before exams start… I'd rather relax today instead of trying to memorize more stuff."

"Well, I guess you have a point…" Mei had to agree. She felt really tired from a week of studying with little to no rest.

"I think you should rest for today. Get your strength back."

"You're right, I should." Mei finally agreed. "Can I sit here with you, Haru-kun?"

Haru was taken aback a little when hearing this.

"Umm… well… I mean, sure." He finally answered.

Mei sat next to him under the big shade the tree gave. The grass felt nice and the air around now seemed… different for some reason.

"Why are you always sitting here?" She asked Haru.

"I don't know why, but this spot gives me peace. I feel good here, my mind clears… besides the grass feels nice, the low sound of the water relaxes me, and also, can you feel it?" He asked. "Can you feel how the air around here is different? I don't know how to explain it, but it just does."

Mei smiled and nodded. "Yes, I noticed. It really feels nice here." She gave a content sigh.

"What are you reading?" She asked now.

"The Lord Of The Rings: The fellowship of the ring." He said. "I've read it many times, but it's one of the big classics. One of my favorites."

"Yeah, I like it, too!" She said. "Sometimes I wish I could live in a world like that. Well, without Sauron, that is." She chuckled.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He smiled slightly.

They stayed silent. Mei decided to just relax while Haru kept reading. The calming environment caused Mai to slowly fall asleep. It was like the accumulated stress of the week of hard studying was finally going away.

"!?" Haru's body jumped slightly when he felt something somewhat heavy on his right shoulder. It was Mei's head that landed on him as she fell to his side while sleeping. "Hey… Mei?" He was about to wake her up, since he felt a little uncomfortable and embarrassed, but in the end decided against it. Her face looked too peaceful for him to wake her up. She was finally resting, so he just gave a small sigh and returned to his book, hoping that his sister was doing some last-minute study and wouldn't come here to tease him, because he was sure she would if she saw them.

* * *

Thankfully for him, Reiko didn't show up and after an hour, Mei slowly woke up feeling pretty rested. The sun was starting to set and the shade of the trees was no longer covering them.

Just as slowly as she woke up, Mei opened her eyes, still being dazzled by the little sunlight. She noticed her head was pillowed on something, but she didn't noticed on what until her eyes looked down to see a pair of legs, and those legs could only be…

"AH!" Mei quickly moved away from Haru once she noticed the close proximity.

"Oh, you're awake." Haru said, as if was nothing.

"I-I'm s-so sorry!" She apologized. Her face was completely red by now.

"Don't worry about it." He said, returning to his book.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked.

"Because you seemed to be resting well. I didn't wanna bother you."

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Reiko asked as she approached them.

"We were… well…"

"Just talking. What's up?" Haru saved.

"Dad said dinner's almost ready, that you two should come inside." His sister answered.

"Alright then." He said and stood up. Mei followed.

She stretched and stayed there for a moment. She really felt well rested after that nap.

Mei looked at the twins as the two of them walked towards the house. Reiko was scolding Haru for not studying, but he didn't seem to be listening. Mei mentally thanked Haru for worrying about her. She really was overdoing it.

_'I have to be careful. It's not only school I we have to worry about, but Shadows, too. Who knows what could happen if I'm not always on my best condition…" _Mei thought.

"Mei-chan, are you coming!?" Reiko asked, already somewhat far away.

"Yes, I'm coming!" She answered.

_"I'm gonna do my best!"_

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so that was it for now. I don't know when the next chapter will come, but I'll try to be faster.

In case you're wondering, the scenes I wanted to write were: The group study session, the guitar scene and Mei's nap scene. I'm so glad I finally got to write them! There are many more I want to write, so do look forward to them!

**Please review**, the feedback is appreciated.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: **I'm back! Though I wasn't gone for that long this time. Not much to say here. This chapter is a little short, but it's just the first part. The second will come soon, I promise!

**Maict** - I'll answer your questions here since I can't PM you. I've been thinking about adding characters from other Persona games. I can promise that two other characters from the previous games will be in this story. I don't know about adding anymore than those because I don't feel confident that I can pull it off. I might end up leaving some of the behind. Although this story is more OC centered, so… We'll see. Oh, but I didn't really like Persona Trinity Soul… so I don't think I'll be adding anything from there.

PS: Do you guys prefer that I answer questions like this? Or should I keep answering by PM? Tell me what you think.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"Everyone, the results are posted!" A second year girl yelled to the classroom.

"Here it is… The moment of truth." Reiko told her brother Haru and her friend Mei.

"Shall we go check?" Mei suggested.

"Sure." Haru nodded.

The trio exited their classroom and headed downstairs to check the results of the week of exams that had just passed. On the way, they found the other trio of first years.

"Sempai, did you see the results?" Kaori asked Reiko.

"We were on our way, Kaori." She answered.

"How about you guys?" Haru asked.

"Ryu is too scared to look." Kaori said, laughing.

"Shut up, Kaori!" He yelled. "But… yeah, I kinda am…" He said, depressed.

"Come on, Ryu! We studied together. I know how hard you tried!" Yui said "I'm sure you did well."

"Yeah, have some more faith in yourself." Mei encouraged.

"I guess I should… thanks." Ryu said, not very convinced but appreciating the words.

The group moved closer to the school's entrance, where the bulletin board was and where the test results were posted.

"Let's see, first years…" Reiko said as she searched for her friends' names. "Oh, here they are! Ryu, you scored average."

"Yes! I can finally breathe!" He said and released a huge relief sigh.

"Kaori, you're above average." Reiko informed.

"Phew, I was worried there, for a moment." She said, relieved, too.

"And as always, our Yui-chan scores the best marks, congrats!" Reiko said, happily.

"Congrats, Yui. Good work." Haru said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Wow, that's impressive. Congratulations, Yui-chan." Mei congratulated, too.

"Thanks, sempai." Yui said, a bit embarrassed.

"Now I want to see the second years!" Kaori said and switched places with Reiko so she could read the scores. "Let's see… aha! Although he has pretty good marks, Haru-sempai has been demoted from his usual second place to the third place among second years!" Kaori said, as if she was an announcer. "And who was it that took his place? None other than the new girl, Mei-sempai! Congratulations!"

"I told you you could beat him." Reiko said to Mei, laughing.

"If you hadn't scored above me with all the studying you did, I would have been surprised, Mei." Haru said, not worried at all.

"I'm just happy I did well." Mei said, modestly.

"And In the first place we have…" Kaori kept silent for a moment, trying to build up tension. "As always, our Reiko-sempai takes the crown!"

"Congratulations, sempai!" Yui said.

"Not surprising, bit still, nice going!" Ryu said.

"Wow, top score even with… you know, everything that's been going on. Impressive, Reiko-san." Mei said.

"Just looking at our scores, you wouldn't even thing that _anything_ is going on with us…" Reiko pointed out.

"You're right. Everything's pretty much normal. We always get these scores." Ryu said and everyone nodded.

"We're pretty consistent, aren't we?" Kaori said and they laughed.

Since it didn't take them too long to check their scores, they went to the rooftop and had lunch together. Everyone felt relieved now.

* * *

I stretched my arms, still sitting in my chair, as we all heard the bell ring indicating that classes had ended for the day. Besides me, Mei was putting her notebooks into her bag, preparing to leave.

"Are you going home, Haru-kun?" She asked me, standing from her seat.

"No, we have our last day of basketball before vacations." I answered. "I won't hear the end of it from Ryu if I don't go."

"That's right… I'd almost forgotten that vacations start in a few days." She said.

"Yes, isn't it exciting?" My sister Reiko said as she approached us. "I have Drama Club today, too. You'll have to go home by yourself today, Mei-chan… Sorry."

"Hey, it's ok. You don't have to worry about that!" Mei said.

"Now that I think of it… you haven't joined any clubs, have you?" I asked Mei.

"No, I haven't. I don't know why, though." She answered.

"Well, things went crazy the moment you got here, so it's easy to see why it wasn't a priority." Reiko said. I guess it makes sense. "It's too late now, but why don't you join one when we get back from vacations?"

"I think I will. But it's too early to be talking about coming back to school when we haven't even left yet." Mei laughed.

"She's right, Sis." I said. "Well, I better go to the gym. See you two at home."

"See ya!" Mei said.

"You better be sure to win, ok!" Sis yelled.

I left the classroom and headed towards the gym, leaving the girls behind. Today we'll have a small game. We'll divide the group into two teams of 5 and we'll play a 'goodbye-for-now' game as Ryu and the coach like to call it.

I got to the gym, went to the locker room and changed my clothes to the black basketball shorts and shirt. When I got to the court, Ryu was already there, standing in the center.

"Haru, you're finally here!" He said.

"The game starts in ten minutes, Ryu. Don't be impatient." I told him.

"Ten minutes? Oh, so that would explain why we're only three people here." He said. Another member of the team was at one end of the court, warming up shooting hoops. His technique wasn't bad, but could still improve. Later, I realized who he was.

Takeru Nakamura, a first year. He's shorter, than me, has very short black hair and wears special glasses that are hard to break, so he can play without having to worry about them. I've known him for some time, but I don't speak to him frequently. I do know that Takeru is a big admirer of Ryu. He looks up to him as a fellow sportsman and trains hard to reach his level. Ryu encourages him to keep training, but doesn't help him. He says he has to do it by himself. He has a point, but some people need a little guidance to improve. Takeru is one of those people.

The ten minutes passed and now everyone was here, including the coach.

"Ok, listen up. I'm going to divide the teams now!" The coach said. "Haru and Ryu will be captains of each team." That's odd… we're normally on the same team. Oh well.

Once the teams were made, Ryu approached me. "This is one of the few times when we get to play against each other." He said. I nodded. "How's the count?"

"4 to 3. You're winning." I told him. This means that we've had seven games against each other. I've won 3, he's won 4.

"You better go all out or I won't forgive you!" He said, a bit jokingly, as he left for his side of the basketball court. I know he's serious though. If I don't play seriously, he'll get mad.

I sighed. "Guess I'll have to…" What a drag… "Takeru, come on, the game's stating!" I called him as he looked at one of the balls.

"Yes, sempai!" He answered and ran to our side since he was on my team.

The game began when Ryu and I jumped to take control of the ball. Since he's taller than me, he won easily, but a member of my team managed to take it back and passed it to me.

There's no way we can win against Ryu with skill only. He's too good, but he lacks strategy. We'll have to outsmart him.

So, with a strategy of passes and some good three point shots done by Takeru, we managed to win this game.

"Aww, damn it… now we're four to four." Ryu said once the game ended.

"It was a close game." I told him. We were both sweating like crazy.

"Yeah, but you're way too smart for me… I can beat you in skill, but not when you make those strategies of yours." He laughed.

"How else am I supposed to win?" I told him.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the shower… You should, too. You stink." He said.

"Really? I don't smell anything…"

"How can you not-!?" He was about to ask but the remembered I have no sense of smell. He facepalmed. "Whatever, just take a shower, too."

"I know." I may not be able to smell things, but I know I have to stay clean. That's just common sense.

Before I could make my way to the showers, Takeru stopped me.

"Hey… sempai…" He tried to say something.

"Hey, Takeru. Good job with those three point shots." I told him. "They really won us that game."

"Thanks, sempai, but it wasn't only me. It was thanks to your strategy that the opportunities to shoot showed up." He said. "It was really amazing… I never thought we'd be able to win a game against Ryu-san." That's right… Takeru joined basketball team fairly recently, so he's only heard about Ryu's wins.

"Basketball is a team game, Takeru. No matter how good you are; if you don't know how to lead your team, then you'll lose. That's one of Ryu's weaknesses which he has to work on." I told him.

"Yeah… you're right." He said. He was a little nervous, for some reason. "Sempai… can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Could you… if you can… maybe… teach me a few things of basketball?" He asked. What?

"Huh?"

"It's just that… you seem to know a lot about the game. I've asked Ryu-san for help, but he refuses. I… I want to reach his level, but I don't know how. So I thought… that maybe you could help me…" I know I said Takeru needed someone to guide him to improve, but I wasn't talking about myself… Well, I guess it's no problem as long as is here at school and during practice…

"Ok, I'll help you out every once in a while…" I said.

"Really? Yes! Thank you, sempai!" He said, happily.

"I have two conditions, though." I told him.

"Sure, what is it?"

"First, I'll only help you here at school when we have practice." I said. He agreed. "And second… let me call you T.K." I remember when Dad told me about an old anime he watched when he was a kid. Sis and I watched it too and there was a guy called Takeru in it. They called him T.K.

"Huh? Oh, sure! Some of my friends already call me that, so no problem." T.K. said. "Well, vacations are right around the corner, so I think we'll begin once we get back." I nodded. "Well, I'll go take a shower. Thank you very much, sempai!"

_*SMASH*_

That sound…

**I am thou… Thou art I…** **Thou hast established a new bond. **

**Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana.**

There were many voices inside my head again. These, too, were different than those before. I think I could recognize a few of them, actually. Maybe…

"See ya around, sempai!" T.K. said and ran to the showers.

"Yeah, sure." I said.

Ok, now… '_Valkyrie, you there?' _I thought, calling upon one of my Personas.

**'Of course I am. What do you need, Haru-san?'** Valkyrie answered inside my head. Even though she's a Norse Persona, she talks using Japanese honorifics… I asked Arthur about that and he said it's because Personas talk in the way their hosts will better understand. Makes sense.

_'Where you among the voices that I just heard?' _I asked her.

**'Yes, I was.'**

_'Does this mean that the voices I heard are my Personas of the Arcana I of which I just formed a link?'_

**'The voices you hear are those of all Personas, of that specific Arcana, that are inside your soul, even if you don't have the power to summon them, yet.'**

_'I see… so I was right. Thanks, Valkyrie.'_

**'You're welcome.' **She said and my mind was free of voices once again.

Ok, now that that's taken care of… I better take a shower, too.

* * *

I parted ways with Brother, who was going to his basketball practice, and Mei, who just went home. I, on the other hand, had to go to my last day of Drama Club since vacations start in a few days. We're not doing much today; just finishing some of the scenery for this year's play that we do in the cultural festival.

I arrived at the classroom we use in the first floor of the Practice Building, but I heard a lot of noise coming from the inside, more than usual.

"I'm sorry, but it's too late for you to join now, we're not accepting new members!" A female member of the club told to the new comer as I came into the room. "Oh, the president's here." She said and everyone turned to see me.

"So you're the president, huh?" The new comer asked when she was in front of me, in a rather arrogant tone. I sighed. I know this girl, and who doesn't?

Mizuki Hirai, a second year and self proclaimed most popular girl in school. She has long, dark brown hair, eyes of the same color and a figure most guys would drool over… some of them actually do. She's slightly taller than me and gives the impression that she's some kind of model.

"What's the problem here?" I asked.

"Huh… Mizuki-san wants to join the club, but we told her that we're not accepting member right now…" Emi-chan informed me, a little nervous.

"I see. Sorry, we can't let you in right now. We're getting ready for the play in October and we're pretty much complete." I told her. "Besides, we're about to leave for vacations." I said and I passed by her.

"Listen, I came here with an objective in mind, and I'm not leaving until you accept me in." Mizuki said, still in the same arrogant tone, but very determined.

I stayed silent for a moment, thinking.

"If you really want to get in, take a brush, some paint, ask someone what needs to be done and start helping with the scenery. Also, don't expect any leading roles in the play, if any." I told her and began doing my own thing, taking a brush and paint to work with.

"What!? Are you serious!?" Mizuki asked in disbelief.

"That's all we can offer you, Mizuki-san. Take it or leave it." I said. The cast is already full even with the substitutes in case something happens.

She gritted her teeth, then sighed and did exactly what I told her. I honestly thought she'd just leave… Oh well, we can use the help.

The day passed by normally after that. Mizuki worked in silence and diligently, which we all found very surprising. Even more, she stayed till the end and the two of us were the last to leave. I approached her while she was finishing painting one of the trees.

"Mizuki-san, I have to close the room now." I told her.

"Fine, I'm done with this anyway." She said in the same tone as always.

"Wow… that's very good work!" I said, admiring her painting.

"Yeah, I know. It's me, we're talking about." She said. How modest…

"Hey, can I ask you a question? Why so determined in joining the club?" I asked.

"That's none of your business." She answered and walked to the door, stopping before leaving. "But… thanks for giving me a chance."

"Huh? You're welcome…"

_*SMASH*_

**I am thou… Thou art I…** **Thou hast established a new bond. **

**Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Moon Arcana.**

Well… that's a weird way to establish a Social Link…

Mizuki quickly left, so I was alone in the room now. I looked at all the work we got done today, but we still have a lot left… we also have to practice. Oh well, that's done for today. Now it's time to rest, so I decided to go home.

* * *

After basketball practice, Ryu and I decided to go to the shopping district and get some food, so we went to Souzai Daigaku to get some steak.

Apparently, a high school girl, maybe a third year, with short and dark brown hair, was tending the shop for now, since the usual lady wasn't here. She gave us our food and we sat at a nearby table. As we ate, the lady, owner of the shop, arrived.

"Boss, I have bad news… it happened again." The girl told her boss.

"What, again!? When!? How!? Did you see it happen!?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't see a thing…"

"And what were you doing, then, if you didn't see anything?"

"I was… talking on the phone with a friend…" The girl said, hesitantly.

"Good grief, girl…" The lady held her head in frustration.

"Hum, excuse me, but… what happened?" Ryu asked. I was curious, too.

"Sorry for all the yelling." The lady apologized. "It's just that we have a meat thief around here."

"A thief!?" Ryu asked, worried, not for himself, but for the lady and the girl.

"Have you notified the police?" I asked.

"We have but… they say it's not a person who's doing it." She answered.

"Huh…?" Ryu and I were confused.

"It seems to be some kind of animal…" She informed. "Every time meat disappears a few traces of animal hair are left."

"Oh… I see." I said.

"What are you going to do, then?" Ryu asked.

"I don't know… I need to catch this thief somehow. Oh, but you kids don't have to worry about anything! This thing only appears when the store is unwatched."

"Ok then… good luck with that." Ryu said. We had finished our food and parted ways. I decided to walk back home and on the way I got lost in thought.

When I realized, I was already at Samegawa flood plains. I went down to the riverbed for a while and just stood there, thinking and looking at the river.

The month's about to end… and again, nothing has happened since June. It's most likely that our parents have noticed this, too. The day Mei was almost kidnapped was around the end of June… We have to be alert. We have no idea what might happen, or when. I'm worried about Kaori and Yui, since they don't have the power to fight back, like us. And the fact that last time that _thing_ kidnapped someone who also didn't have a Persona.

Wait… now that I think about it, Ryu, Sis and I were pulled into the TV world when we didn't even know about all this. Is there a pattern? None of us had a Persona… what else?

…

We're all sons and daughters of Persona users! Is it targeting us specifically!?

I remember that the faceless gargoyle said something about needing Mei for something…

Our parents aren't stupid; they must have realized this already. Damn it, I have a really bad feeling!

I ran as fast as I could in the direction to the Inn. I have to ask Dad. Maybe he knows something that he hasn't told us yet… maybe he has a plan! What is this bad feeling I'm having!?

"Brother, why are you running!?" I heard Sis's voice yelling from a little farther ahead. She must've been going home, too.

"I don't know, just come with me!" I said as I passed her.

"What are you… urg, ok fine!" She said and began running, too.

We got to the Inn and kept running to the house. Once inside I almost bumped into Mei in one of the corridors.

"Haru-kun, Reiko-san! Thank god you're home! I was about to call you!" She said.

"Why?" I asked. This bad feeling keeps growing and growing.

"Your father's on the phone with Naoto-san. Something terrible happened!"

"What happened!?" Reiko asked, now extremely nervous.

"Seems like Kaori-san and Yui-chan were pulled into the TV world!"

I froze. This can't be happening… this can't be right!

"It seems they were at Kaori-san's house when Rise-san saw _something_ coming out of the TV in Kaori-san's room and pull her and Yui inside."

"Why did she even have a TV in her room!?" I asked, to myself, mostly.

"Damn it! I had a bad feeling on the way home! Why didn't I do something!?" Reiko yelled. So she felt it too… But what could she have done?

"Mei, where's my dad?" I asked.

"In the living room, with Yukiko-san and my parents." She answered.

I ran there and Sis and Mei followed. When we got there I saw the four adults standing while Dad talked in his cell phone.

"…Then come here as fast as you can. Don't worry, we'll get them out of there." Dad said to the phone and hanged up.

"Dad." I said and the four adults looked at us.

"_Sigh…_ I guess Mei already told you what's going on." He said.

"She did." Sis said. "Dad, what do we-"

"You all knew about this, didn't you?" I interrupted her. "You knew we were the ones being targeted!" I became angry all of a sudden.

They stayed silent.

"Haru-kun…?" Mei tried to calm me down, but I paid no attention to her.

"I'm guessing you had that theory when Sis, Ryu and I were pulled into the TV and it was further supported when Mei almost got kidnapped. This confirms it, then. The children of Persona Users are being targeted!"

"Is… this true?" Sis asked, in a rather low tone and looking down.

"Yes… you're right, Haru." Dad said. Damn it…

"Then why…?" Reiko asked again. "Why didn't you do something!? Why didn't you prevent Kaori and Yui from going missing!?" She yelled, lifting her face. A few tears were falling from her eyes. She was angry. "Aren't you all super powerful!? Aren't you the ones who defeated gods in the past!? Were all those stories a lie!?"

Seeing my own sister that angry made me snap. I realized that acting like this will lead us nowhere. I forced myself to calm down. I have to think things clearly. Yes, our parents are strong, but what can you do in this kind of situation? This is not something you can solve with pure power. We were taken when they least expected it. What could they do? Lock us up in cells for the rest of our lives? Of course not.

When you look at them is easy to see how they feel. The impotence, the shame… They want to protect us, but even all the power they have is not enough. Sis is not making things easier for them… and neither am I. Damn it… We're idiots.

I put a hand on Reiko's shoulder and she looked at me. Tears were still falling from her eyes. I know my sister. She's not really angry at our parents… she's angry at herself for not being able to do anything, she's angry at whatever it is that took Kaori and Yui. She doesn't know how to release that frustration. Sis cares a lot for her friends… she would give her life for any of them, and at this kind of situation, I'm scared that she might actually do it at some point.

I have to be calm. Sis and I are a team. If the two of us are angry then things won't work. One of us has to think straight, and this time it has to be me.

"I'm sorry… I got angry for no reason." I told them. "We can talk about this later. What's the plan now?"

Dad sighed. "We'll wait until everyone's here and get ready. We'll search inside the TV world then, since we can't really do it without Rise. She'll give us a better explanation later. Right now we need to act."

"Yu, it might be better if they stay here… We don't need to put them in any more danger." Minato-san said.

I still had my hand on Sis's shoulder, so I sensed her muscles tense when she heard that. I pressed harder to try and calm her down. I succeeded, but not much.

"What? It's our friends we're talking about here! You can't make us stay here when their lives are in danger!"

"I agree with Reiko-san, father!" Mei said. "We've been training for when moments like this come, haven't we!? I can't just sit here while I know I can be of some help!"

"Mei, please understand!" Yukari-san said, trying to convince her daughter.

"We know how you feel, but this is too dangerous for you all." Mom told us.

"And where is safe, mother?" I asked. "The enemy has come to the real world before. For all we know this could even be a trap."

"Some of us could stay here with them." Yukari-san told Dad.

"Splitting up wouldn't be a good idea…" He said and, although he didn't like it, Minato-san agreed.

"Two of our best friends were just kidnapped and thrown into a world where they might die if we don't do something." I said.

"You two risked your lives to save people you didn't even know." Reiko told our parents. "You have no right to stop us from saving our friends. Kaori and Yui are like our sisters. I'm not gonna let them be harmed!" She might get in troubles for speaking to them like that, but that's not what matters right now. Besides, she has a point.

Silence hit.

"Go get your stuff. We leave as soon as everyone's here." Dad said. Sis, Mei and I felt a little relieved.

"Yu, are you sure about this?" Minato-san asked.

"I know how you feel, Minato, but running away won't help. It might even make things worse." He answered. "You thought the same when moving in with us, didn't you?"

"_Sigh…_ I know."

Yukari-san put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"We have to trust them. They are not helpless little kids." She said.

"And we can't forget that we had their age when we started fighting Shadows." Mom said. "Let's have faith in them. They're prepared."

"Alright… you can come." Minato-san finally agreed.

"Thanks, dad!" Mei said.

Sis and I nodded and the three of us left for our rooms to get our stuff ready.

After a few minutes, everyone was here. Dad and Uncle Yosuke had a brief discussion over if Ryu, Mei, Sis and I should be allowed to go in with them, but Uncle Yosuke ended up giving in.

Just a bit before we got in, I gathered 'my team' so I could tell them something. I call it that because Sis called us the _'New Generation'_ of Persona users and Ryu and Mei liked the sound of it… Whatever.

"Haru, what's wrong!? We have to hurry!" Ryu said, obviously worried about Kaori and Yui.

"There's something I need to talk about with you guys…" I said.

"What is it!?" Sis asked, impatient. They are all worried and angry… I don't blame them, I feel like that, too, but I can't show it. We have to be calm or we'll get nowhere.

"First, we all need to calm down. I know how you feel, Sis. I feel the same way, but going to the other side with those feelings clouding our mind will only get us killed." I said things straight, there's no time to soft thing up.

Reiko took a deep breath. "Yes, you're right… Sorry."

"Second. This time it's not like the others. This isn't like when we awaken our Personas, nor is it training. This time we're in the offensive! Yui and Kaori don't have the means to fight back. They might meet their Shadows, or our enemy might do something to them. To be honest, it doesn't matter."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Ryu asked, angry at my words.

"It means just that. It doesn't matter." I told him. "You know why? Because we'll get them back unharmed. No matter what's in our way we won't stop! We will fight, and we WILL WIN. If things don't go right for us, we make them right! Are we clear?"

"YES!" My three teammates yelled in unison. I could see the determination in their eyes. That's good.

We can't screw this up… _I_ can't screw this up. They're counting on me and I'm counting on them… I can't let them down. I can't get emotional.

"Let's go." I said. They nodded and we headed towards the house storage outside. Weapons in hand.

**'Good motivational speech, there.' **My Persona,Arthur, said in my head.

_'Thanks, I thought I should say something. They couldn't fight in the condition they were in... Same is true for me.'_ I answered, in my mind.

**'You're more cut to be a leader than you give yourself credit for, Haru. You even know how to keep calm in battle, but you might be pushing yourself a bit too much in that aspect…'**

_'I have to. If I don't, I might not be able to think straight…'_

**'****_Might _****being a key word, here.'**

_'Not the time, Arthur.' _I said, trying to end the conversation.

**'Very well.'** He said and I didn't hear him anymore. We don't have any more time to talk. We have to hurry.

Kaori, Yui… We'll get you back, I promise. Just hang in there a little longer!

* * *

**A/N:** So, Kaori and Yui got kidnapped and it's time for old and new Persona Users to take action! What will happen? You'll have to wait for a few days to find out.

I'm having troubles with Social Links… I investigate what each Arcana represents to create a character that fits, but it harder than I thought. And for some reason Reiko's Social Links are much harder…

QUESTION! What do you all think about the other characters so far? Namely Kaori, Yui, Ryu, Takumi… They are not seen that much, but how are they developing? Please, let me know!

Thanks to the people who always review! **ADeadDiehard **and **Ice Wolf Fang** have been my most loyal reviewers so far, thanks a lot!


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Ok, this took longer than I thought and was also harder, for some reason… Do you like how I write action scenes? Well, I hope you do, 'cause this chapter has a lot of them!

I'll start replying to reviews in here, from now on!

**ADeadDiehard: **Thanks for all the support! I always look forward to you reviews. It makes me happy to know I'm doing well with OC's. I got really attached to my characters, so I hope I can do a good job making them grow. You want more of the parents? Here you go! It's not THAT much, but I have something planed for the future that is PARENTS-ONLY. A prequel sounds tempting, but I think I should finish this one first ,lol.

**Ice Wolf Fang:** A non-Persona User children? WTF!? ARE YOU READING MY MIND!? I already have something planned for that!

**Izanarukami818: **Thanks! It's good to know I'm doing a good job!

**Maict: **Hey, don't worry!Your reviews are all getting through! I took your advice and I'll be answering questions here, from now on. About Kaori and Yui, you could call this their 'arc' so they'll be developing a bit more in the following chapters. When it comes to Social Links that are not part of the team, we'll not be seeing them too much, so they'll develop very slowly or might even have a big jump in development… And Haru! I wouldn't call it a 'Dark Side' but you're definitely on the right track! Don't put yourself down saying you're stupid! Glad to know it getting through, but maybe I'm way to obvious… Well, I have BIG plans for that, so I won't say anything about it here.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"Listen carefully, since we're far too many people now, we'll divide in three groups!" Yu said.

The group consisting of 14 Persona Users, ten veterans and four newbies, entered the TV world in order to rescue the two girls that were now lost inside. The group was standing in the studio-like entrance while Yu gave the orders and Rise scanned around, looking for the girls' location.

"I'll lead the first team. Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko will be with me." Yu continued.

"I'll be taking the second team." Minato said. "Yukari, Kanji , Naoto. You three are with me."

"Haru, no one knows your team better than you, but I'll assign Teddie to be with you guys. He's a very good fighter and healer. He'll be there in case something happens."

Haru nodded. Having his Uncle Ted with them really meant a lot. He was very strong with ice spells and could cast powerful healing magic. Teddie could also feed them information about the enemy, even if he wasn't as good as Rise.

"Rise will provide backup support for the first two teams, while Haru's team will protect her." Yu said and then looked at the teens. "You will not engage in combat unless I or Minato say so, are we clear?"

Haru nodded in agreement. Ryu was about to protest but was held back by Reiko, who grabbed his shoulder and shook her head when he looked back to her.

"Rise, did you find them?" Kanji asked. He was trying to not sound too worried, but his concern for his daughter was evident.

"Yes, and fortunately they are very close to each other!" She informed.

"Then let's go, we mustn't waste any more time!" Naoto, like her husband, had a hard time keeping her cool. Who could blame them, though?

"Can you give us a minute? We won't take longer than that." Haru said and signaled Reiko to come with him. They moved towards a corner of the studio, where a blue door, that only they could see, was.

"What are you two doing!?" Ryu asked.

"Getting ready. We won't take long. Trust us." Reiko said.

"What do they mean?" Mei asked, to anyone that could answer.

"They are getting new Personas." Her father was the one to answer.

Since the veteran Persona Users saw their leaders doing the same thing from time to time when they were younger, they didn't oppose to letting the teens do it, too. They knew it took close to no time. They also knew the potential of the Wild Card, so even though they were just kids, they had the potential to be really strong.

The twins looked at each other and opened the door and with the usual blue light, they entered the Velvet Room.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room my dear guest." Igor greeted with his creepy voice, but the siblings were already getting accustomed to it. There was something they weren't accustomed to, though, and it was the presence of another person in the room. Sitting at Igor's right side in the carriage was a man with a huge resemblance to Margaret.

He had white hair and yellow eyes. Like Margaret, he was wearing a blue velvet outfit and a bellboy hat.

"Hum… hello?" Reiko said to this person.

"Greetings, Master Reiko, Master Haru." The man said.

"Master?" Haru questioned.

"Please, let me introduce you." Margaret said. "This is my younger brother, Theodore."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you two." Theodore bowed.

"I have decided that having only Margaret keeping track of both compendiums will not do, so I have called Theodore to assist her." Igor informed. "From now on, Margaret will keep track of Haru-san's compendium, and Theodore of Reiko-san's compendium."

"I see… I guess we'll be working together from now on, Theodore-san." Reiko said.

"I'll be looking forward to it." He answered.

"Well, your wait is over." Haru said. "I'm guessing you already know what's going on?" He asked Igor.

"I do. It is terrible what has happened to your friends, but you must stay calm if you want to save them."

"So we still have time?" Reiko asked, hopeful.

"Indeed. Your father and his friends are strong, but when the time comes, it will be up to you to rescue your friends. Do you feel like you can accomplish that?" Igor asked. His usual grin was still present.

"We can." Reiko answered.

"And we will." Haru said.

"Splendid! Like always, my services are at your disposal."

"Good, 'cause that is what we came here for." Haru said.

"Very well, then let's begin."

* * *

No more than a minute had passed and the twins were ready to go, and so was everyone else.

"Rise, where are they?" Yosuke asked.

"In the Shopping District Area." She informed.

"Good, they're not too far, then." Chie said.

"Ok, let's move out then!" Kanji yelled. Yu nodded and gave the order to proceed.

The huge group headed to the Shopping District as fast as they could, but strangely, they ran into some shadows on the way.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Kanji yelled at the shadows as he smashed a card with his shield, summoning Takeji Zaiten.

His Persona was incredibly big. It had a huge white body with flame decorations in his shoulders, arms and legs, was wearing a white cape and had the biggest mustache everyone had ever seen. In his hand was a big, red sword with a flame design.

"**MAZIODYNE!**" Kanji yelled once more and huge bolts of lightning fell on top of the head-like shadows, evaporating them.

"Another group of four is coming from up ahead!" Rise informed. "I sense no weaknesses from them!"

Those four shadows looked like lions with a big iron ball attached to their neck by a chain.

"Didn't you hear him…? STEP ASIDE!" Naoto yelled to the shadows. The usually calm and cool-headed detective Naoto was beginning to be clouded by anger. Her card fell from above and she shot it with her revolver, summoning Yamato Sumeragi.

Her persona wore a fancy red shirt, navy blue pants, black boots and gloved and a pointy helmet. It also had long blond hair and was wielding a fancy saber.

The Persona pointed both arms at the shadows and a purple light began forming in his hands.

"**Megidolaon!**" Naoto commanded. An enormous and powerful beam of almighty magic was shot from Yamato's hands, leaving a trail of smoke and creating a big explosion, making the shadows disappear as if that was a magic trick.

The teens were speechless. They couldn't believe the demonstration of power that was happening before their eyes. But, from a tactical perspective, such demonstration was just an act of anger.

"You two, calm down! If you keep using high level spells recklessly, you'll get tired before we even get there!" Minato said.

"I know how you three might feel…" Yukiko said, referring to Kanji, Naoto and Rise. "But it's important that we stay calm…" She tried to calm them down.

"And what would you-!?"

"KANJI!" Yu interrupted him before he could say anything else to his wife. "We know." He walked closer to his friend and put both hands on his shoulders. "We'll find them, I promise!"

"Yes… you're right. I'm sorry…" Kanji said and finally calmed down a bit.

Minato sighed in relief. "Let's keep moving." He said and the group continued moving forward.

The group finally arrived at the Shopping District of the TV World. They were now in the south area, right beside the gas station.

"So… what now?" Yukari asked.

"I can sense them… but there's something weird." Rise said.

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked.

"I can sense Kaori in the tofu shop… but for some reason it seems to be blocked by some strange energy!"

"We've been through things like this before." Yosuke said. "Isn't there a way to break through?"

"I don't know, but I there's a similar energy coming from the textile shop, right where Yui-chan is!" Rise informed. "The path there is clear, though."

"Then we better go to the textile shop, first." Yu said. "I don't like having to rescue one after the other, but we don't have much of a choice…"

"I know… Let's move quickly!" Rise said.

As they ran, Yu and Minato felt a sudden change in the air. Haru and Reiko felt it too. The three Amagi Wild Cards had felt this kind of pressure before… it was _it._

The two older leaders shared a quick glance. They knew it. Something was gonna happen and they didn't want the kids around when it did. They nodded at each other. It was now or never.

A card from the Fortune Arcana fell on Yu's hand, while Minato quickly aimed his evoker at his temple.

"Norn!"

"Odin!"

The Personas Odin and Norn appeared above Yu and Minato, respectively.

Norn looked like a white statue of a woman sitting on a giant clock, while Odin was a man with purple skin, wearing nothing more than a big white cape, shorts of the same color and a horned helmet. Odin wielded the famous spear, Gungnir.

Both Personas sent a giant gust of wind in direction of the group of teens, in a way that didn't hurt them but sent them blown many meters away.

The newest group of Persona Users landed hard on the ground, but they were practically unharmed.

"What the hell!?" Ryu yelled, not realizing what had happened.

"DAD, MOM!" Reiko yelled.

"You guys, go rescue the girls!" Minato yelled.

"We trust you, you're ready!" Yu managed to say before a big dome-like force field made of purple almighty magic surrounded the whole group of veterans, trapping them inside.

"Mom, dad!" Mei yelled, trying to communicate with her parents on the other side of the barrier.

They didn't respond.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Ryu asked. "Our parents are inside and we got blown away!?"

"Dad and Minato-san did that." Haru said. "They knew this was gonna happen, so they blew us out of the way…"

"I noticed something was odd, but I didn't manage to react…" Reiko said.

"I noticed, too. But everything was so fast that I could barely see a thing." Her brother answered.

"What is going on inside!?" Mei asked, very worried.

"It must be _that thing…_" Haru said.

"What thing…?"

"The enemy…" Reiko said. "We don't know what it is… what does it want, or even its name, if it has one… But seems like he's the one behind everything."

"And what do we do now!? Our parents are in there!" Ryu said.

"There's nothing we can do about them… I've been inside one of these before. You have, too, Mei. There's no way to get in… or out."

"Are you serious…?" Ryu couldn't believe his parents were trapped inside that thing and he couldn't do anything.

"All we can do is trust them." Reiko said. "We would only be a burden to them in there…"

"What do you mean…?" Mei asked.

"She means that they're probably fighting now…" Haru answered. "Let's leave that to them, we need to focus on Kaori and Yui."

"So we turn our backs on them!?" Ryu asked in disbelief.

"Then what do you suggest? Try going inside, but I warn you, it's gonna hurt, a lot."

"But-"

"We have other things to worry about now. Let's move." With those final words, Haru set direction towards Tatsumi Textiles, while the rest of the team just stood there.

"I can't believe him…!" Ryu was angry at his friend for acting like that.

"Ryu, try to understand." Reiko told him. "This is hard for all of us, even for him, but we came here to rescue Kaori and Yui. All we can do now is trust our parents. They're not weaklings, you know? They're on a totally different level than us. You've seen it yourself."

"…"

"They're all super strong. They will not lose! I promise you that we'll all get back safely to our world and that includes Yui-chan and Kaori." Reiko said, grabbing Ryu's shoulder.

"You're right… hehe." Ryu said. "I can't believe I forgot that for a moment… they're our parents, after all. They'll take on anything easily." He finally calmed himself.

Mei sighed in relief. Reiko's words even manage to calm her down.

"Now, we better go back to Brother, or he might get in trouble for walking off alone."

Mei and Ryu nodded and they ran to Haru, who was waiting just a bit farther ahead.

The twins looked at each other and nodded. It was like if Haru was saying 'Thanks' while Reiko said 'I've got your back.'… It's a twin thing.

"Now, if everyone's ready, let's move!" Haru order and everyone followed.

* * *

The eight veteran Persona Users were surprised when they saw their leaders summon their Personas so suddenly, almost horrified when they saw them attacking the group of teens, but when the Almighty barrier fell upon them, they felt relief.

"How did you know this was gonna happen!?" Rise asked. "I couldn't sense anything!"

"I'm not sure myself… But I think I've felt it before." Yu answered.

"It feels like something that shouldn't be here is around… Call it instinct, if you want." Minato said.

**"Getting the kids to safety? Are you sure that will work?"** They head a macabre voice, which some of the members of the Investigation Teamhad already heard.

"You…" Yu said with anger in his voice.

The faceless black gargoyle was floating above them at the very top inside the dome.

"Were you the one who brought my daughter into this world!?" Kanji asked with extreme anger.

**"Your daughter? Oh, the blue haired girl? She shows a lot of potential… She has some interesting qualities."**

"What are you planning to do with my daughter!?" Naoto yelled. Anger and fear of losing Yui were beginning to cloud her mind again.

**"They are the best candidates for my experiments…"**

"Experiments!? What are you talking about!?" Rise was no better than her two friends. "Why our children!?"

**"Why, you ask? I told you, they're the best candidates. They have potential hidden deep inside them… I want to use it! Oh, and I also get to piss off Philemon."**

_"Philemon…?" _Minato thought.

_"That name…"_ Yu had heard it before. Haru and Reiko said he was the one who gave them their power.

"We have no idea who this _Philemon _is, but we're not going to let you hurt our children!" Yukiko said. She was determined, like always when it came to her family and friends.

"Was it you the one who tried to kidnap my daughter…?" Yukari asked.

**"That girl? She would have been a perfect subject, but that kid just HAD to come…"**

"So it WAS you…" Minato said. He aimed his evoker at his temple and shot, summoning Norn once more. The sound of shattering glass was heard and the Norse goddess of fate appeared. "**Garudyne!**"

A powerful wind spells was unleashed by Minato's Persona. The huge tornado flew in the direction of the enemy, but the wind passed right through it, doing nothing.

"What!?" No one could believe what they saw. The attack wasn't blocked, like it happened many times with enemies resistant to the element, but it was like it hit nothing.

**"As you can see, I am not really here. I'm in no condition of fighting… for now. So I show myself before you as a mere projection."**

The Persona Users couldn't do much more than grit their teeth.

**"If you want to fight that much, then here…" **Right as the gargoyle said that, three red and black portals appeared in front of the group. From them came three male-looking, armored warrior statues. The one to the right was made of bronze and in its hands was a giant warhammer made of the same metal. The one on the left looked exactly the same, but it was made of silver, and had a big spear instead of a hammer. The one in the center was made of gold, and wielded a golden Greatsword. **"These are some of the early results of my experiments… If you can defeat them, then this barrier will disappear, and you will be free to go. Let's just hope that doesn't happen."**

**"Master, what are your orders?" **The golden warrior statue spoke, surprising the Persona Users.

**"Can we kill? Please tell me we can kill!"** The silver one said.

**"I'm lazy…"** The bronze one spoke in a low and slow tone.

**"Yes, kill them all. Those are your orders."**

**"Very well."** The golden statue readied its sword and took a fighting stance against the group of humans.

**"Yes, yes! We can kill!"** The silver statue said, excited, and drew its spear.

**"I'm lazy…"** The bronze one said in the same monotone voice as he readied his Warhammer.

"Everyone get ready for battle!" Yu commanded. "Rise!"

"I'm on it!" Rise replied, summoning her Persona and began scanning.

"Ok Teddie, you're with me now!" Minato said and Teddie hurried to Minato's side.

"I've got it! Their Arcanas are Strength, Chariot and Tower. They have no weaknesses and are strong against light and darkness! They're physically strong, too!" Rise informed.

"Now listen up!" Yu called his friends. "Right now we'll focus on these shadows and we'll leave the girls to Haru's team. Believe in them, they're ready."

"They can do it. They're our children, after all." Yosuke said.

"What kind of parents would we be if we don't trust our own kids?" Chie asked, rhetorically.

"They'll be able to overcome anything as long as they're together. I know it." Yukiko said.

"I'd still feel better if we finish this quickly and join them soon, though." Yukari was getting her bow ready.

"I feel the same way, but we should focus on this battle first." Naoto said as she reloaded her revolver. She managed to calm herself. "I'll leave my daughter in their hands, for now." She smiled.

"We've seen these kids grow and I've never seen them so determined… Fine, I'll trust them, too." Kanji said. He smiled, too.

"I've seen them fight. I know they're strong!" Rise really had seen their strength first-hand.

"Me too! I'm _beary_ confident they can win!"

"Save the puns for later, Ted…" Yosuke shook his head.

"This is easy, we beat these things and we join with our kids latter. Simple as that." Minato drew his short sword with his right hand and his evoker in left.

"Now, go!"

_(Song: Mass Destruction – Persona 3)_

"Orpheus!" Minato shot himself and his first Persona was summoned. This Persona had a robotic-like body, white hair similar to Minato's style and wielded a lyre. "**Marakunda!**" Orpheus played his instrument and a strange purple light enveloped the three shadows.

"They're weak, attack now!" Rise yelled.

"Izanagi!" Yu crushed the card of The Fool Arcana and his own persona came to his aid. "**Maziodyne!**" He commanded, and huge lightning bolts were shot from Izanagi's hand and flew in direction of the three shadows, effectively hitting them, but the enemies were unfazed.

"Are you kidding me!?" Yosuke asked. "Rise, you said they were only strong against physical attacks!"

"They don't look like it, but the attack should've worked! Just keep going!" She answered.

"Very well then… We'll just go all-out! **Dragon's Fury!**" Chie gave a kick to her card as it fell from the sky. Haraedo-no-Okami appeared, summoning the image of a golden dragon around all her friends, meaning she had casted her unique skill, **Dragon's Hustle. **Everyone felt a sudden surge of energy.

"You've gotta admit this kind of takes you back, doesn't it?" Yosuke said and slashed his card with his kunai, summoning Takehaya Susano-o. "**Magarudyne!**" The wind tornado hit the statues, but still didn't move them.

The whole group couldn't help but simile a bit at what Yosuke said. It _had_ been a long time since they last had to fight shadows, and although the circumstances weren't the best, they couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

"Oh oh… there's no time for that! They're attacking!" Teddie warned when he saw the shadows moving.

The enemies moved slowly, but they suddenly attacked.

**"Brave Blade!"** The golden shadow said as it aimed at Yosuke with its giant sword. Thankfully, he managed to evade the powerful attack thanks to his great speed. **"You're a fast one…"**

Naoto wasn't so lucky and got hit directly by a **Primal Force** casted by the silver shadow.

"AAAHH!" She screamed in pain.

**"HAHAHA! Kill, kill, kill!" **The silver shadow laughed sadistically.

"Damn you!" Kanji cursed and charged at the Shadow that hurt his wife, but ended up getting smashed from above by a **God's Hand** casted by the bronze shadow.

**"Don't move so much… it makes me lazy…"** The bronze shadow said.

"Yukari, heal them!" Minato commanded.

"I'm on it!" She grabbed her evoker and shot herself in the forehead, summoning Isis. "**Salvation!"**

A light of many different colors enveloped Kanji and Naoto, relieving them from the pain and injuries.

"Thanks…" Kanji said as he stood up.

"I'll burn you to scarlet for that!" Yukiko said and crushed her card with her fan. "Sumeo-Okami!" The goddess appeared above Yukiko and released her ultimate spell, **Burning Petals**.

The closed flower opened below the shadow statues, unleashing a powerful torrent of fire on them, but once more, the shadows didn't look hurt.

"I don't get it! Your attacks should be working, but the shadows aren't even taking damage!" Rise yelled, confused.

**"Volpal Blade."** The golden shadow made quick slashes with its sword, damaging the whole group.

"The silver shadow is going to attack again!" Rise informed.

**"DIEEE! Myriad Arrows!"** The silver shadow pointed its spear to the sky and countless arrows began to fall on top of the Persona Users.

"**We can't lose here!**" Naoto yelled as she shot her revolver aiming at her card. Yamato Sumeragi appeared and performed his skill **Shields of Justice**, protecting everyone from the falling arrows.

"Now's your chance!" Rise called.

"**Mabufudyne!**" Teddie said as he slashed his card with his artificial bear claws. Kamui-Moshiri was summoned and instantly launched numerous ice blocks at the shadows. The attack seemed to have some effect since the threeenemies took a small step back.

"Did that work!?" Chie questioned.

Her question was answered when the three warrior statues stepped forward.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kanji said in disbelief.

"Nothing's working, what do we do!?" Yukiko asked.

"There's gotta be some kind of trick here!" Minato said.

"Rise, we'll buy you as much time as you need, just try to find what that _trick_ is!" Yu ordered.

"Roger! I'll do my best!" She answered.

"Yosuke, Chie, Yuikio… try to hold the bronze shadow for as long as you can!" Yu ordered again. They nodded. "Kanji, Naoto, Ted… Hold the silver shadow! Yukari, you're with Minato and me. We'll take care of the golden shadow!"

"This one seems to be the smartest one… we'll have to be careful…" Minato said.

"We're counting on you, Rise!" Yosuke told her.

"I know, just buy me some time!"

"You got it!" Kanji answered.

The teams got in positions and got ready for battle. The fight previously had been just a warm up. The real battle was just starting.

* * *

"So… Yui-chan's here, right?" Reiko asked. The four teens were right in front of the Textile Shop.

"Both she and maybe something that will help us get into the Tofu Shop…" Haru answered.

"We should be careful… there could be something waiting for us." Mei said.

"But if we don't hurry, who knows what might happen to Yui!" Ryu said.

"Ryu, we'll get in first." Haru said. "You two follow us from behind and back us up in case something happens." He said to the girls. They all agreed to the plan.

Carefully, Haru and Ryu took the first steps into the shop. As they went inside, something came into their view.

"Yui!" They both said.

Indeed, there she was, standing in the middle of the shop, still as a plank. A weird, dark red fog was slowly enveloping her more and more.

"What the hell is going on!?" Ryu asked.

"Are you guys ok-" Reiko began to ask, but then saw Yui as she and Mei got inside. "Yui-chan!?"

"What's happening to her!?" Mei asked, shocked.

"My guess is: What almost happened to you." Haru answered and got closer to Yui. He tried touching her shoulder, but as he was about to do it, the air around his hand crystallized into ice, making Haru retire his hand and pain.

"Arg! Damn it!" He said, grabbing his right hand with his left.

"Did you have Arthur on you, Brother?"

"Yeah… That hurt like hell." He answered. Since Arthur is weak to ice, he took more damage than he should for that.

"Are you ok, Haru-kun?" Mei asked. "You want me to heal that?"

"No. This isn't bad enough to make you summon your Persona…"

"Let me try…" Reiko said. She mentally changed her Persona to Arthuria, who's strong against ice. But now, as she tried to grab Yui by the arm, she was pushed back when flames formed around her hand.

"Aaahh!" She screamed in pain. Her hand looked burnt.

"Reiko-san!"

"I-I'm fine… really." She said, trying to hide the pain.

"Now she's protected by fire? What the hell is this!?" Ryu questioned.

"I remember Mei being protected by electricity when I tried to wake her up… At the time I think I had Arthur on me, as well, so it makes no sense that this 'barrier' pushes us away with our weakness. Unless…" Haru pondered.

"We don't have time for that!" Ryu yelled and tried to wake Yui up, himself.

"Ryu, wait-" Before Reiko could stop him, small lightning bolts stopped him, causing him great pain in his hand.

"Damn it…" He gritted his teeth, not caring much about the pain, but for Yui.

"That proves is. We're being denied the possibility to wake Yui up." Haru said. "And if my theory is right, then is Yui herself who's doing it…"

"What!? Why would she do it!?" Reiko asked.

"I mean she's doing it subconsciously. Think about it… Mei was surrounded by an invisible electric barrier, and which one is her Persona's weakness?"

"Electricity…" Mei answered herself.

"So you're saying that Yui is weak to all elements?" Ryu asked, not understanding very much.

"I can't say for sure, but… I think Yui possesses an ability similar to Aunt Rise's and she's subconsciously protecting herself, reading our weaknesses."

**"My, aren't you a smart one…"** A voice, similar to Yui's, but more evil, said.

"You've got to be kidding…" Haru said.

They looked around and saw an exact copy of Yui standing a couple of meters in front of her. She had her exact same face and was wearing the same clothes: Her blue, short-sleeved cardigan and a semi-long white skirt. The key differences between them were the yellow eyes and the evil aura that the copy emanated. These were the same differences between Ryu and his own Shadow.

The weird red fog had vanished and Yui almost fell backwards, but Haru managed to catch her before she touched the ground. He was on one knee and held Yui in his arms.

"Yui, are you ok!?" He asked her.

"H-Haru… S-Sempai…?" She replied, weakly.

"It's ok; we're here, Yui-chan!" Reiko said.

"Everyone… I-Is here?" She asked. Her expression changed to one to shock as if she'd just realize something. "No, go away!" Yui yelled at them, grabbing her head with both hands and hiding her face.

"What? Yui, it's us, your friends!" Ryu tried to reason with her, but she didn't listen.

"What's wrong with her…?" Mei asked.

"I don't know…" Haru replied. "Yui, listen to me, we're here to get you out. We're your friends."

"Just go… please. Stay away from me!" She yelled once more and tried to break free from Haru's grip.

"Yui-chan, pull yourself together!" Reiko said.

**"Hahaha. You want them to go, right? But why? They're here to protect you!"**

"Shut up! I don't want to hear anything from you anymore!"

_"But she has barely said anything…"_ Haru thought.

**"Why? Are you afraid that your ****_friends_**** might hear the truth?"**

"SHUT UP!" Yui screamed.

"Yui, calm down! You're not thinking straight!" Reiko told her.

"Just go away… please. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

**"But why do you want to be alone? Is it so you don't have anyone else to compare yourself to?"**

"…!" Yui gasped.

"Wait… is that…?" Mei asked.

"Yes… that might be Yui's Shadow." Haru said.

"N-No… it's not… Don't listen to it, just go away!" Yui yelled once more.

**"No matter what it is about, you're always comparing yourself to others, right?"** Shadow Yui said. **"And the thing is you always want to be better than them! Hahaha!"**

"Stop it…" Yui said.

**"God it feels good when I have to tutor my own friends! It's one of the few times when I get to feel superior!"**

"Yui…" Ryu said.

"Don't listen to her! She's lying!" Yui's voice was beginning to crack and tears were starting to fall from her eyes.

**"I always have to be comparing myself to others! The worse comes when I compare myself to ****_Haru-sempai and Reiko-sempai…_**** God, they piss me off! They're so strong, have so many qualities… They make me feel so weak!"**

"…" The twins stayed silent.

**"Even when they got kidnapped, they returned with even more power!" **Shadow Yui continued. **"And Mei, ****_the new girl_****. As soon as she arrived, she got power and now fights alongside them as an equal! That's not fair!"**

"Yui-chan… I…" Mei tried to say something, but couldn't.

**"Kaori is preparing herself to fight, too! She trains with ****_sempai_**** with her weapon, so even ****_SHE'S_**** stronger than me!"**

"Please… stop…" Yui pleaded, crying.

**"Just look at you. All you can do now is cry! Just accept it… you're weak!"**

"No…!"

**"You wanna know how I know all of this? It's because I am you, and you are me… I'm your shadow, pathetic little Yui…"**

"Yui, don't listen to her… we-" Ryu tried to say but was suddenly cut off.

"NO! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE. DEFINETLY. NOT. ME!"Yui yelled with all the strength she had left.

**"HAHAHA!" **It laughed.** "That's right! With that, I'm finally myself!"**

The real Yui fell unconscious right after her shadow said that.

The black fog was starting to envelop Shadow Yui, but suddenly she started to feed on the fog.

"What the hell…?" Haru couldn't understand what was going on. What should be happening now is the shadow going berserk and trying to kill them, but for some reason, it was still keeping itself controlled and was eating the black fog.

The shadow's skin became pitch black and a black and blue mask formed in its face, but it still retained its human form.

**"I am no ordinary Shadow…"**

* * *

"Rise, still nothing!?" Yosuke asked as he dodged yet another attack from the slow moving, bronze shadow statue.

"I think I'm getting something, but I still need more time!" She replied.

"Please hurry up. This isn't as easy as it might look…" Naoto said, shooting a few rounds against the silver shadow with her revolver, but it did nothing. "Urgh…"

"Let Rise do her thing, just focus on keeping the shadows occupied!" Yu called.

"Yes sir!" Teddie replied and started running in circles around the silver statue.

**"URGH! Stay still so I can kill you, you little pest!" **The shadows said and tried to pierce Teddie with its spear. It missed and the spear got stuck in the ground. **"Aw damn it!" **It yelled, trying to remove it.

"Kanji, now!" Naoto said.

"I got it!" He yelled and summoned Takeji Zaiten, who made a full body-charge against the statue, bringing it to the ground.

**"Don't be mean to my brother…"** The bronze shadow said when he saw its 'brother' on the ground. It aimed its hand at Kanji and tried to attack him, but was stopped by Haraedo-no-Okami, with a combination of quick kicks and slashes from her weapon. Although that didn't do much damage, it did manage stager it.

"Hey, you're fighting us!" She told the shadow.

"**Agidyne!**" Yukiko yelled as her Persona sent big fireball to the enemy. Like before, it didn't do much.

"Oh, come on, go down already!" Yosuke said.

On the Wild Card's side, Yukari was standing on the back, providing support while Minato and Yu fought the golden shadow.

A golden greatsword was about to fall on top of Minato when he shot himself with his evoker.

"Arahabaki!" He called forth his ultimate Persona of the Hermit Arcana, who looked like a ceramic doll.

The Persona not only blocked the attack, but also reflected it, thought it barely moved the shadow.

"**Ziodyne!**" Yu crushed the card of the Tower Arcana to summon the ancient samurai warrior, Yoshitsune. He was in red armor and wielded two katanas.

The huge lightning bolt hit, but like all other attacks, it wasn't doing anything.

**"You two are pretty smart… You use this ability of yours to nullify my attacks. Impressive…"** The shadow said.

"Well, thanks…" Minato said.

"Can you just tell us what your secret is? Our kids are waiting for us, so we have to hurry…" Yu asked while the light of a **Diarahan**, casted by Yukari, enveloped him, healing his previous injuries.

**"I'm sorry, but I have orders to kill you. I cannot do that."**

"Oh well… it was worth a try." Yu sighed.

"And how do you plan on killing us if you can't even touch us?" Minato asked.

**"Like this…"** The golden shadow extended its hand to the sky and a familiar purple light began forming on it.

"Oh crap…" Minato said.

"_Sigh…_ You got Ananta?" Yu asked.

"Yeah."

"Then let's do it." Yu said and Minato nodded.

"PERSONA!" They both yelled. Yu crushed a card of the Temperance Arcana while Minato shot his evoker.

Above Yu, his ultimate Persona of the Temperance Arcana, Vishnu, appeared. He had four arms and wore fancy jewelry.

On his side, Minato summoned his Persona of the Aeon Arcana, Ananta, a snake with seven cobra heads.

Both Personas seemed to synchronize perfectly with each other.

"**INFINITY!**" The two Wild Cards yelled and their Personas casted a Fusion Spell.

Together, they summoned and invisible shield around everyone.

The purple light in the golden shadow's hand turned into a giant explosion when it hit the ground. Everyone within the energy dome would have been whipped out by such power. But the shield provided by Yu and Minato protected all of them. The shadows were also unharmed, whatever the reason.

**"Such coordination… You continue to impress me."** The golden statue admired.

"Well, then prepare yourself, 'cause we have even more coming for you!"

* * *

_(Song: I'll face myself -battle- / Persona 4) _

**"I am a shadow, the true self! But I'm different to the rest… I'm stronger, faster, ****_smarter…"_**Shadow Yui laughed diabolically.

The walls of the Textile shop began to fall, revealing a TV studio, similar to the one in the entrance, but this one was a blue background. The group didn't have time to wonder what was happening; they had the enemy before them.

"Everyone get ready for battle!" Haru ordered. "Mei, stay in the back protecting Yui and giving us support from there. You're not an in-fighter, so you'll be better there."

"Yes, I'll protect Yui-chan!" She answered.

"Sis, Ryu, follow me. This shadow might actually be different than the rest, but they have one thing in common…" He tightened the grip on his sword. "She'll fall like all the others!"

Haru made a run against Shadow Yui without summoning a Persona. Reiko and Ryu followed closely behind.

"Attack when you see an opening!" Haru said.

"Right!" They all replied.

Once Haru was close enough to the shadow, he made a horizontal slash against it, but she easily dodged it by jumping into the air.

"Now!" Haru yelled.

"Andra!" Reiko summoned her new Persona, a human with an owl's head and wings. "**Zionga!**" Putting both hands together, Andra launched a medium size lightning bolt against Shadow Yui, but she somehow dodge the attack midair by putting more weight on the left side of her body and making a 180 degree turn.

"What the…!"

"No time, to be surprised, Sis!" Haru said. "Ryu, your turn!"

"Go down!" He yelled, summoning Lancelot to launch a **garu **spell at the shadow.

When the small gust of wind was about to make contact, Shadow Yui summoned her own **garu** spell and launched it against Ryu's. The attacks countered each other and both disappeared.

Shadow Yui began falling from above and Mei saw this as an opportunity. Grabbing her evoker and aiming at her temple, she shot and summoned Freya. "**Garula!**"

A medium size tornado formed below the enemy, but the shadow used this as a boost to jump into the air once more.

"You kidding…!?" Ryu couldn't believe what he had just seen.

**"You guys are so predictable…" **Shadow Yui said. She snapped her fingers and a **mazio** spell hit the whole group.

Even though she was weak to it, Mei shielded Yui with her Persona, making it disappear.

"AAAHHH!" She screamed in pain.

"AAARGGGG!" Ryu also tried to suppress the pain from being attacked with his weakness, but it hurt too much.

"Mei-chan, Ryu!" Reiko called to them.

"Be careful, it's going to attack again!" Haru warned.

**"Now take this!" **She snapped her fingers once more and sent a **magaru** spell this time.

Ryu and Mei weren't very affected by it, but Reiko's current Persona, Andra, took a direct hit, which made her scream in pain and fall to her knees.

"Sis!" Haru called. He got hit, too, but it didn't hurt as much.

"I'm… f-fine!" She said.

_"Damn it… does it know our weaknesses!?" _Haru thought. _"If so… then…"_

**"Maragi!"** The shadow sent four small fireballs with a simple snap of her fingers.

"Pyro Jack!" Haru crushed his card and the Persona of the Magician Arcana appeared. It was a pumpkin head with a cape and holding a lantern. This Persona positioned itself in front of Haru and absolved all four fireballs. That even made him feel better, recovering some energy.

"This thing is reading us! Not only our attacks, but our weaknesses as well!" Haru informed.

**"Oooh. You really are a smart one… but that was to be expected of ****_Haru-sempai_****. God, you piss me off… just die!" **She snapped her fingers again. **"Bufula!"** A block of ice was heading straight to Haru.

"Sarasvati!" Reiko quickly called upon the Persona of The Priestess Arcana to block the attack and protect Haru. "Not anymore…" She said in a low tone. "You're not hurting my friends anymore!" Reiko's eyes showed anger. She really didn't know Yui felt like this, but this thing wasn't really her. This was the result of her emotions going out of control. It didn't really matter to her right now. That thing made Yui cry and physically hurt her friends. Her brother said it before… as special as Shadow Yui think she is, she's going down like all the rest.

"Ose!" Reiko slashed the card of The Fool Arcana and a leopard with human form, wearing a cape and wielding dual blades appeared above her. Ose quickly dashed towards Shadow Yui slashing swiftly against it, but the enemy dodged all of her attacks.

**"It seems we have someone weak against light, here…" **Shadow Yui laughed and snapped her fingers. A few paper talismans appeared around Ose.

"Crap, that's a **hama **spell!" Ryu yelled. "Reiko!"

Before the spell made full effect, Haru summoned Principality, a Persona of the Justice Arcana, to push Ose out of the way and take the spell in it stead.

"Haru-kun!" Mei yelled, worried, but letter saw that the spell did nothing to Haru's new Persona.

Reiko kept attacking with Ose, but the attacks kept missing. Ose was about to fall to a **hama** spell again, but principality took the hit again.

**"****_Tsk…_** **You guys are really annoying!"** Shadow Yui said.

"Like I said, this thing is reading all of our attacks… She knows what we can do, so it acts accordingly!" Haru said.

"Then what do we do? Something we've never done before!?" Ryu questioned. Although he didn't mean it, his question gave Haru an idea.

"Something she doesn't know we can do…?" He whispered.

"Brother… we need a plan, now! Whatever it is, know that we're with you!"

Haru looked back to Ryu and Mei, who nodded at him.

"Can we really pull something off…?" He asked himself.

_If things don't go right, we'll make them right!_

_"So my own words come to bite me in the ass, right?" _ He thought. _"Very well…"_

"I think I have an idea, but putting it to action will mean we'll get hit… a lot. You two more so than us…" Haru told Ryu and Mei, hesitation in his voice. Of course he didn't want them to get hurt, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"Ok, so what's the plan?" Ryu asked.

"Ryu, you'd be attacking with **garu** spells from a good distance. That should give you time to evade in case the shadow attacks you. Mei, you should focus completely on healing everyone, also staying at a safe distance and trying to avoid any attacks that might come in your direction."

"I can do that…" Ryu agreed.

"We knew we'd get hurt when we came here, didn't we? Don't worry." Mei said.

"Then what am I doing?" Reiko asked.

"I trust you to follow me… Nothing else." He answered.

"What…?"

**"What are you all chatting about? Didn't you notice we're in the middle of a fight!?" **Shadow Yui asked, annoyed. **"Maragi!"**

"Pyro Jack!" Haru quickly summoned the pumpkin Persona to absorb the fireballs coming in their direction. "We don't have more time. To positions!" Haru ordered and made a run towards Shadow Yui. Reiko followed closely behind.

_"What is he thinking…?" _Reiko thought. _"All I have to do is follow him…?"_

"**Agilao!**" Haru commanded his Persona to launch a medium size fireball at the enemy. She dodged and countered with a direct **Bufula**.

"Brother!" Reiko summoned Sarasvati to block that attack, but suddenly, a **Garula** was heading towards her.

"Power!" Haru called upon an angel warrior in red armor. Power had a Spear in his right hand and a shield in his left. He completely blocked the attack directed against Reiko.

_"Huh…?_ _Is this…?"_ Reiko seemed to be catching up on Haru's plan. The twins kept getting closer and closer to their foe as they ran.

**"Zionga!" **Shadow Yui yelled, launching a strong lightning bolt against Power.

"Raja Naga!" A Persona of the Aeon Arcana with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a snake blocked that lightning.

**"Stop, being so annoying! Why do you want to protect a pathetic weakling like her!?"**

"You call Yui a 'pathetic weakling' but that only shows that you don't know her!" Haru yelled.

**"I know everything about her! I'm her Shadow!"**

"Then stop calling her weak!" Reiko yelled as she and her brother kept running. "You just _think_ you know her because you're her inner thoughts! We didn't know this is how she really felt… but she's not weak!"

"Yui's strength is different than ours! So what if she feels superior when she teaches her friends?Let her!" Haru said. "No one's perfect!"

"She compares herself to others? That normal! She's human, after all! The only thing that's wrong with that is that she puts herself down because of it!" Reiko yelled. They were now just a couple of meters away from shadow.

"If only she'd told us about this sooner … I guess is also our fault for not noticing it." Haru said.

"We'll fix that now… Look, Yui. This is our way of saying 'sorry'!" Reiko yelled.

When she heard her name being called, Yui began to wake up in Mei's arms.

"Yui-chan! You're awake!" Mei said.

"Yui? Are you listening to what Haru and Reiko are saying?" Ryu asked. "Did you think we would hate you for thinking as you do? Then you're wrong! We're all here fighting for you, because we care!" He gave a straight punch through his card to summon Lancelot, who launched a **garu **spellagainst the shadow, using his lance as a canon.

The spell hit Shadow Yui, making her shift her attention towards Ryu and Mei.

**"You insolent scum! Mazio!" **Another four bolts of lightning were shot from her hands, hitting all of them. Mei protected Yui with her body once again.

"Mei-sempai…!" Yui said, weakly.

"It's o-ok… We all came here to recue you… this is nothing!" Mei said. She put her evoker in her temple and shot to summon Freya. "**Media!**"

A soft light enveloped the group, relieving them from pain.

Haru, with Reiko's help, stood from the ground.

"You need more than that to take us down…!" He said, sounding a tired.

**"Then take this! Magaru!"** The shadow tried to blow the twins away, but they stood their ground. They mentally changed to their first Personas simultaneously, Arthur and Arthuria. They kept running toward their foe, not caring about the pain.

"Something we've never done…" Haru muttered.

"Something new…" Reiko said.

The twins crushed their card with their hands, summoning the knights.

Arthur flew high up while Arthuria dashed to the left.

**"What's this…? what are you doing? Slow down… I can't see it!" **Shadow Yui held her head like she was in pain.

"Read this!" Haru yelled.

The swords of both knights were enveloped in a golden light. With incredible speed, Arthur started making his way downwards holding his sword in his back and Arthuria dashed from the left with the same speed and her sword shining and ready to cut.

"This is it!" The sibling yelled. "**CROSS CALIBURN!**"

Arthur made a heavy vertical slash from above and Arthuria made a horizontal slash with the same intensity, creating a golden cross on Shadow Yui's body.

**"AAAAHHHH! NO, I CAN'T… I'M… STRONGER… FASTER… SMARTER…!"** She yelled in pain while black fog came out of her. Her skin was returning to normal and the blue mask broke in half.

Shadow Yui fell to her knees, signaling the victory of the new generation of Persona Users in this battle.

* * *

**A/N: **I have a big question for you guys… How is my writing coming along? Has it improved since I started? Are the fighting scenes boring or hard to understand? I think I've improved, but I need feedback from outside.

A little trivia if you didn't know: There are many versions of the Arthurian Legend (I'm not even sure myself… I've been reading a lot about it and it confuses me) and in some of them, the sword that Arthur pulled out of the stone wasn't Excalibur, but Caliburn. Excalibur was given the him later on… Or at least that's what I'm going with.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **This took longer to get done that I would have wanted, but I got back into university now and have been busy. (There were problems and the building was taken over by protesting students.) I had some more time to write, but now I'll have to focus more on my studies, so updates will be a bit slower… sorry.

I sort of have a confession to make. Remember how I'm not a native English speaker? Well, I seem to have confused the actual meaning of the word "piggyback" (I think). I thought it meant to carry someone on your back, but it actually means to carry someone on your shoulders… right? Correct me if I'm wrong! (This is somewhat important since it kinda changes a scene in chapter 9, which has been edited to remove that word.) _Sigh… _I'm and idiot.

Last chapter go a lot of reviews! I'll be honest… It made me friggin happy! Thanks a lot, people! I'll answer them now:

**ADeadDiehard: **Thanks a lot! I'm glad to see I'm improving and that the fighting scenes are working! I try to stick to the game's battle system but with the freedom that's outside the game mechanics.  
Yeah, I wasn't happy with the bronze Shadow either… I guess I could have done better.

**Ice Wolf Fang: **I got Persona Innocent Sin, too. I haven't played it much but it seems interesting. I doubt I'll be adding anything from previous games, though… It's tempting, but I don't want to add too much stuff so I end up with a story I can't even control.

**Maict: **We'll see more of Yui and Kaori in this chapter. I hope I did well. The non-Persona User child character was used in both Persona 3 (Maiko) and Persona 4 (Nanako, of course. Duh) So I think it's right to have one here, too. I'm sort of nervous about writing a child, but we'll see that later on. And yep, decided to bring in Theodore… I don't know, it just seemed right and I don't know what I didn't do it from the beginning.

**SorinTheTactician: **Good to see I'm improving, thanks! Best fight scenes of any Persona fanfic? I doubt it… I still have a long way, but I try to do my best. About my OCs… I might not have the best writing skills (there are a lot of great writers out there…), but I think I know what to do with the characters. I don't want to turn Haru or Reiko into those so called _Gary Stu or Mary Sue_. I want to try my best to make them as real as possible and in a way live up to the franchise's name that is Persona.

**KeybladeSamurai: **Thanks! I've played Persona 4 and 3 so many times that I think the style got stuck with me…

**Justaputri: **Hey, don't forget knowledge! You learn from your battles, right?"

**Michiyo Makino: **I have to agree with you on the Original Characters thing… I've read many stories which include them and they just don't turn out right… it's like they come from outside the fandom and critic its logic… see what I mean? I've seen that happen and I try my friggin hardest to not turn my story into something like that. The day I do, I will have insulted my favorite game! Oh, and Haru's character was the first one to come to mind when I thought about this story. Actually, you could say Haru CREATED this story, so his personality and even how he will develop has already been thought of. It makes me happy to see I'm doing a good job with this.

Boy… that was long. Sorry. Without any other interruptions… here we go!

* * *

**Chapter 15. **

Shadow Yui was on her knees now, too weak to even think of continuing the fight. Then again, the twins weren't any better.

After performing their first fusion spell, **Cross Caliburn**, they fell to the ground from exhaustion.

"Haru, Reiko!" Ryu yelled as he ran towards his friends while Mei stayed with Yui, who was still feeling weak.

"Are you guys ok?" Ryu asked when he was at their side.

"Not really…" Haru answered, sounding very tired and trying to get up but it was obvious that he was pushing himself too hard. "Sis… you awake?"

"Somehow. I don't know what we did, but I don't feel like doing it again anytime soon." Reiko answered, sounding just as exhausted as her brother.

"Haru-sempai… Reiko-sempai…" Yui muttered. "Mei-sempai, can you help me go over to them?" She asked.

"Of course." Mei answered happily and nodded.

The two stood up from the ground with Yui using Mei's shoulder as support, but after taking a few steps, Mei's leg almost gave away.

"Woops!" She said, regaining her balance.

"A-Are you ok…?" Yui asked her.

"Y-Yeah, this is nothing." She answered. While Mei didn't feel any pain thanks to her healing, the mental shock of being electrified that many times was still present and it was showing on her legs, but she managed to keep walking towards the rest of the team and closer to Yui's Shadow, who was still on her knees, doing nothing.

Haru was now sitting cross-legged while Reiko was sitting with her own legs extended and moving them, trying to get rid of the numbness she felt.

"Haru-sempai… Reiko-sempai… I-I…" Yui said when she and Mei were close enough for the twins to wear her weak voice.

Haru pointed his thumb to the Shadow behind him. "You have something to take care of for yourself right now, don't you?" He asked.

"B-But that's-"

"We know, Yui. It's not easy to face yourself. I should know; I've been there, myself." Ryu said.

"But you have to remember you're more than that." Reiko told her. "You'll always be our Yui-chan. The one who, despite her age, is the smartest person we know."

"You've always been the most mature person in our group of misfits, Yui. I know you enough to say that you will not be defeated by your own Shadow… And of course, we're here to help you if you need us."

"Who are you calling a misfit!? Aren't those just you and Ryu?" Reiko asked.

"HEY!" Ryu said and Mei started to laugh.

A smile formed on Yui's face. Their friends were here to support her… she had nothing to fear.

She started walking alone toward her silent Shadow and the two of them look at each other… eye to eye.

"Yeah… it's all true. All the things you said… both in my head and to my friends. I'm always comparing myself to others… and doing so makes me feel weak." Yui said. "I don't have physical aptitudes like Ryu, or Haru-sempai's musical talent… I don't have Reiko-sempai's acting skills and neither am I strong as her… and compared to girls like her, Kaori, or even Mei-sempai… I'm still just a kid…"

"But you've realized it already, haven't you?" Haru asked her.

Yui nodded. "Yes sempai. Now I see what you meant. My strength is different. We're all different people, and so all of us have different things that make us strong and special. I've finally realized that I am me… that _you_ are me…"

Shadow Yui nodded and vanished in a white light, reappearing moments later with a different form… the form of a Persona; a woman with long, dark brown hair and wearing a very long, one piece purple silk dress. Unlike other common Personas, she had a face. Her eyes were closed but had a calm expression. Many small lights were flying around her, like small fairies made out of nothing but light.

"Igraine…" Yui muttered and fell to her knees.

"Yui-chan!" Mei and Ryu hurried to her side.

"I-I'm alright…" She said.

"Hey… your Persona has a bunch of 'Navi's' around her!" Ryu said. "…Now that I think about it, poor you."

Yui laughed at the reference. "I'll be fine."

"Wait… Igraine!?" Haru asked.

"Yes… that's the name of my Persona…" Yui said.

"You know who she is, Haru-kun?" Mei asked.

"She's… King Arthur's mother…"

"What!? Yui-chan's our mother!?" Reiko asked.

"Wait, we don't have time for this! Kaori still here on this world!" Ryu yelled.

"That's right! I was with Kaori when something pulled us in here!" Yui said.

"How are we going to rescue her if we can barely even stand right now…" Mei questioned.

"I think we can do something… Sis, you still have that bottle Dad gave us last week?"

"I think so… let me look for it." Reiko unattached the small bag that was around we waist and began to look through it.

Meanwhile, Haru looked at everyone to see how they were doing.

_'Funny, although Ryu and Mei took more attacks than Sis and me, we're by far in worse condition…'_ He thought. "Huh?"

"Haru, something wrong?" Ryu asked him.

"Hum, Mei… your scarf…" He pointed a finger at it.

"What about- Huh!?" She took a look at her ping scarf, only to see it with various burn marks. "Oh no! What happened to it!?"

"All those lighting attacks must have done it…" Haru said.

"This was given to me by my dad when I was a kid…" Mei said, feeling pretty sad.

"I'm so sorry, Mei-sempai… If you hadn't protected me, then your scarf wouldn't have been damaged…" Yui said, feeling guilty.

"No, don't say that!" Mei said. "No matter how many times you ask, if I had to choose between protecting you and a piece of cloth, I'll choose you every time!"

Mei's resolve was clear. She wanted to do whatever she could to help, no matter the cost. Sure, it was sad to see one of her most precious possessions completely ruined, but a person's life was by far more valuable.

"Found it!" Reiko said once she found what she was looking for. "Here…" She passed it to her brother.

"What's that?" Ryu asked.

"Mom called it 'soma'. She said a few drops of this liquid can restore people to full strength." He answered. "She also said is pretty rare, but we have no choice now, we have to rescue Kaori."

Haru held the bottle over his mouth and three drops fell from it. Just with that, he quickly felt his energy coming back until he was at his best.

"Holy crap… this thing's powerful!" He said, impressed with the effectiveness of the weird tasting elixir. "Sis, don't take more than three drops. We have to save it for everyone." He told his sister as he passed the bottle back to her.

After a few minutes, everyone, even Yui, had tried the soma and were now at full strength.

"What are we going to do with Yui-chan…?" Reiko asked.

"I'm going too!" She quickly replied. "I have power now… please let me fight alongside you."

"But you just awaked! This might be too dangerous." Reiko told her.

"Or maybe not…" Haru said.

"What do you mean?" Ryu asked him.

"Remember how her Shadow could read our moves? I think Yui's Persona might be support oriented, like Aunt Rise's."

"Then she wouldn't have to go straight into battle!" Mei said. Haru nodded.

"But still… I don't know what might happen. She really just awakened… Maybe you shouldn't come…"

"Sempai, please… She's my friend, too." Yui said. "Just like you all risked your lives to rescue me, I'm willing to risk mine, too!"

"…" Haru didn't know what to do. Did he even have the right to stop her? She was using the same argument they used with their parents. He sighed. "Yui, summon your Persona and try to look for something that can give us access to the Tofu Shop." Haru said. "Something like that should be around here."

"Brother, are you sure?"

"First we'll test if she's in condition to summon." Haru replied. "If you show any kind of fatigue, then I can't let you come with us. You'd be more of a hindrance than help."

"Hey… Haru-kun!" Mei felt those word were too harsh, even if they were somewhat true.

"You're pretty blunt, you know that, sempai?" Yui laughed softly, not feeling offended at all since she knew those word were true and they only gave her more motivation to try her best. "Very well." A card fell from above and Yui gently crushed joining her two hands as if she was praying.

Igraine appeared behind Yui and put her hands on Yui's shoulders. Both Persona and host had their eyes closed and the small lights around Igraine started to move faster than before.

"I can sense it… I don't know how, but it's like these creatures are telling me everything I want to know about this place!" Yui said. "The entrance to the tofu shop is locked… and the key to open it is somewhere around this area…"

…

…

"I found it! It's behind the counter!" She informed and one of the lights quickly moved to said place.

"I got it!" Ryu followed the light and found a blue treasure chest. Inside it was a purple orb. "The key was inside a chest… classic."

"Yui-chan, are you feeling ok?" Reiko asked.

"Yes, I'm completely fine!" She replied. She looked fine, too.

"_Sigh…_ Fine, you can come. He have to hurry, we've wasted enough time!" Haru ordered and everyone quickly headed to the Tofu Shop to rescue Kaori.

* * *

"Y-You've got to be kidding…" Kanji barely managed to say. He was lying on the ground as were the rest of his friends, except for the two Wild Cards who were on one knee, trying to get up, and Rise, who was at a safe enough distance from all the chaos.

The battle had continued but the three Shadow statues still stood strong before the Persona Users.

"No matter what we do, our attacks are useless…" Chie struggled to say.

"Why… Why can't I see through their trick…!?" Rise asked to herself, desperate.

"Sensei… what are we gonna do?" Teddie asked.

"Is this as far as we can go…? Are the enemies too strong for us…?" Yukiko questioned.

"No… these guys are nothing compared to other things we've faced." Yu said. "Hell, Adachi's attacks hurt more than theirs." Despite all the damage he had taken, Yu smirked.

"You're right. These Shadows might be able to talk, but they're just a trio of idiots…" Minato said.

The two leaders stood up.

**"Hey, who're you calling idiots!?"** The silver Shadow asked angrily and extended its hand to send a primal force against them, but Yu crushed his card to summon Yoshitsune to block the attack.

"Hey, how do you think the kids are doing?" Yu casually asked Minato.

"For all we know they've already rescued the two girls and are right outside this dome, waiting for us to finish here…" He smirked.

"Then we better hurry up. They must be tired."

**"I want to finish this soon so I can go back to sleep."** The bronze Shadow said and attacked the two leaders. **"Akasha Arts."**

The combined sound of a gunshot and shattering glass was heard before Arahabaki appeared in front of Minato to reflect the attack while Yoshitsune blocked again.

"What the hell are you two talking about!?" Yosuke questioned, feeling both confused and angry that the two were talking like nothing was going on.

"It's just that we've played long enough… it's time to finish this so we can go home." Yu answered, sounding completely calm.

"I AM feeling pretty hungry…" Minato said.

The whole group didn't understand what was going on with their leaders. They were having a calm conversation in the middle of a battle they were LOOSING. They wondered if they had gone insane… if they really had just given up. But suddenly, two members of the group understood.

"And what do you feel like eating?" Yukari asked, standing up and smiling.

"I don't know… maybe ramen." Her husband answered.

"You know, our head chef makes pretty good ramen." Yukiko noted as she stood up. "He says he has a secret recipe that he won't reveal."

"That's true. He won't even tell me." Her husband said.

"What are you-?"

"Then why don't we finish this quickly so we can have dinner? Thinking of ramen made me hungry as well." Yukiko said, interrupting Naoto.

"Ooh, I see." Chie realized what was happening. "Hey Yosuke!"

"Huh… yes?"

"Didn't we promise Ryu we'd have pizza for dinner today?" She asked her husband as she, too, stood up.

"Well, yeah…" Realization hit Yosuke in the head like his bike to his private parts. "Yeah, we did!" Struggling, he got up. "You're coming too, right Ted?"

"Yep, you had already invited me! Did you forget?" Teddie said. He was already o his feet.

"We did…?" Chie questioned.

Naoto understood the meaning of this random conversation and smiled.

"Kanji, what do you think we should have for dinner today?" She asked.

"I don't have anything in mind…" He answered with a smirk.

The married couple got up, as well.

"Hey Rise, you wanna have dinner with us?" Kanji asked. "The girls will probably be sleeping, so we could use the company."

Rise smiled, too. "Sure. Want me to bring some tofu?"

"That sounds nice." Naoto replied.

They all realized it. What their leaders were doing wasn't just a random conversation. They were making plans for later tonight and that in itself meant a lot.

It meant they trusted in their children's successes. It meant they didn't plan on loosing this battle. They couldn't lose and they wouldn't. They had things to do afterwards, along with their sons and daughters.

"All that's keeping us from a lovely family dinner it's you three, so I think it's time we end this. What do you think, honey?" Yukari said and asked Minato.

He laughed. "Hahaha, you haven't called me that in years, you know?"

"Oh, I remembered we have news to tell Reiko and Haru!" Yukiko said.

"You're right. I'm sure they'll be happy to hear it." Yu said.

**"Are you toying with us? I will not tolerate such disrespect!" **The golden Shadow said, angry and swung his huge sword at Yukiko.

The sword was stopped by Yoshitsune just in time before it hit, but Yukiko didn't even flinch. Instead, she quickly summoned her own Persona to attack the bronze Shadow, who seemed like the most distracted.

"Persona!" Her Persona sent a huge fireball but the statue barely reacted.

"Let's follow up on that one!" Chie said, feeling enthusiastic once again. "God's hand!" A quick kick to the card and her Persona summoned a giant golden hand to fall on top of the same Shadow Yukiko attacked.

The Shadow must have at least felt that attack coming to its head, since its face fell a bit when hit.

"Me too, me too!" Teddie said and summoned Kamui-Moshiri to send a single huge block of ice to the bronze statue, which hit dead center in the Shadow's chest, making it flinch.

"Huh? Could it be…!?" Rise said to herself. "Keep attacking it! That seemed to have some effect!"

"You heard her! Attack the bronze Shadow!" Yu yelled.

"Persona!" Yosuke slashed his card with his kunai and Takehaya Susano-o sent a wind tornado against the target, who took a step back when he received the attack.

"One more!" Yukari shot herself on the forehead and Isis summoned a similar but more powerful tornado. The Shadow now looked like it had genuinely taken some damage.

Before the team could keep attacking, a huge amount of arrows fell from the sky, making them stop the offensive.

**"You think we're gonna let you gang up on you brother? Forget it!"** The silver Shadow yelled.

"That's it! I can finally see it!" Rise said. She didn't suffer any damage thanks to Minato's Arahabaki blocking the attacks for her. "The three Shadows have a hidden connection! Any damage they suffer will get healed up right away because of it! That's why your attacks looked like they did nothing!"

"That's a dirty trick, you know!" Chie yelled, angry.

"Ok, so now that we know what's going on, what do we do!?" Kanji asked.

"If you focus all your attacks on one enemy, you might be able to take it down fast enough and break the connection!" Rise informed.

"That's it? Man, we could have done that ages ago!" Yosuke said.

"Focus only on the bronze statue! Attack with everything you've got!" Minato ordered.

As Naoto was about to initiate the attack, the golden statue stopped her by making her dodge a sword slash.

"The other Shadows aren't making it easy!" She said.

"Minato and I will take care of the silver and golden Shadows! All of you just focus on the bronze one!" Yu said.

"We'll leave it to you two, then!" Chie said.

"Futsunushi!" Yu summoned his ultimate Persona of the Chariot Arcana. A man with long, blue hair, covered in bandages and surrounded by floating swords.

"Thor!" Minato summoned his own ultimate Persona of the same Arcana; the mighty Norse god of thunder.

Thor charged straight to the silver Shadow, crashing with it, while Futsunushi was in a duel of swords with the golden statue. None of the parties were taking serious damage, but that wasn't the Wild Cards objective. Little by little, as the battle progressed, the silver and golden statues were coming together, side by side.

"!?" The Shadows just noticed they had been lead to this position.

"Just were we wanted you…" Minato said, smirking.

"Your choice this time." Yu said.

"Some fire would be nice."

"Then fire it is…"

The loud sound of a gunshot and shattering glass was heard once more on this _battle dome_. Yu summoned his ultimate Persona of the Tower Arcana, Shiva the Destroyer, while Minato summoned his wife, Parvati.

"**Ardhanari!**" Both Personas synchronized with each other and acting together they created an incredibly strong flamethrower that held back both Shadows at once as they crossed their arms to somewhat avoid direct exposure to the fire.

Meanwhile, continuous attacks of fire, wind, ice, lightning and almighty were falling on top of the bronze shadow, which was really looking damaged. A giant golden hand could also be seen falling on the statue's head.

"Yukiko, for old times' sake!" Chie yelled.

"Yes, let's do it!" She answered.

They got together, back to back, and smashed their cards, summoning Sumeo-Okami and Haraedo-no-Okami.

"**Twin Dragons!**" The said in unison.

A closed flower wrapped the Shadow while a golden dragon flew around it. Once the flower opened completely, the dragon attacked, enveloping everything in pink and golden lights.

"Hey, us too!" Kanji told Naoto, but before they could do their own combined attack, they saw the Shadow on one knee and with black fog surrounding it. "Aw…"

**"I think this is it… Brothers. I'll be able to sleep as much as I want now… See you around…"** It said before completely vanishing. But there was something left… something that looked like a rock, a bit bigger than a human fist.

**"B-Bronzie… no…"** The silver Shadow sounded… sad.

**"Rest well, brother."** The golden Shadow sounded sad, too.

"The link's broken, now's your chance!" Rise said.

"**King…!**"

"**…And I!**"

Minato summoned the mighty King Frost while Yu called upon Black Frost. Together they made a huge snow avalanche fall right on top of the two Shadows. The golden one, though, managed to avoid the snow by slashing its sword upwards, cutting through it. The silver statue, on the other hand, received the full power of the avalanche.

**"AAAAHHHH!" **It sounded like it was in huge pain.

**"Brother!"** The golden Shadow called.

The falling cold snow on top of a heated metal body made the Shadow take even more damage than usual, but it wasn't enough to kill it.

"Aaaah!" Minato and Yu screamed in unison as they ran towards the pained Shadow, short sword and katana in hand, respectively. They jumped and made a X-shaped slash on the silver Shadow.

**"I-I… I can't let it end like this…" **The defeated enemy said. **"I… I still have to kill them…"**

**"Silver…"**

**"Brother… will you kill them? Please…?"** Black fog was beginning to envelop the Shadow.

**"Yes brother… I shall make you last wish come true."** The golden one replied.

**"Thanks, bro…"** With that, the silver statue disappeared leaving only a rock of the same size as the other.

"Okay then… there's only one left!" Kanji said.

"You've been a mayor pain in our asses, you know?" Yosuke said.

"It's time to finish this!" Naoto said, reloading her revolver.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. It wasn't very strong but it still could be easily felt.

"Wha- What's going on!?" Yukari asked.

The golden Shadow had a furious expression on its eyes and a weird, dark aura emanated from it.

"Guys, get back… something's happening to it!" Rise informed and everyone took a few steps back.

The two rocks that were left behind by the defeated Shadows began to float in the air.

"What the hell!?" Yosuke didn't understand what was going on.

Both rocks flew in the direction of the golden Shadow, who opened its mouth and ate them. It chew, then swallowed. The dark aura around it only became stronger as the color and texture of the statue began to change.

From the luxurious and exquisite golden carvings, the Shadow's 'skin' turned very rough and changed to a dark grey color.

"What's going on…!?" Yukiko asked.

"It seems like it ate the cores of its brothers to gain more power!" Rise informed. "It's transforming!"

The ground shaking stopped and so did the Shadow's transformation. Although it retained the same form as before, it was like it was made from a different metal. Even its sword had changed.

**"I am Obsidian! My brothers gave me their strength to defeat you, let's see whose resolve is stronger!"**

"Oh crap…" Yu said.

"OH COME ON, GIVE ME A BREAK!" Yosuke yelled.

* * *

"So… we just get close to the door with this orb thing in hand?" Ryu asked. The group of new Persona Users was now in front of the Tofu Shop, getting ready to rescue Kaori.

"Yes. The door should open by itself when that orb is near." Yui answered.

"Is everyone ready?" Haru asked. They all nodded. "Then let's go." He ordered.

They got closer to the door and, just like Yui said, it opened on its own. But once they were inside, they were greeted by the image of Kaori being strangled by what seemed to be her own Shadow.

"KAORI!" Before receiving any orders from Haru, Ryu punched through his card and the green armored knight charged forward with lance in hand, succeeding in separating the original from her Shadow. Ryu ran and grabbed Kaori by the shoulders as she was falling then help her sit on the ground.

"Good job, Ryu!" Reiko told him.

The rest of the group ran over to Kaori as well.

"Mei, see if Kaori has any serious injuries!" Haru ordered. "Sis, let's work as a barrier between them and the Shadow. Yui, stay close to them. "

Everyone did as their leader ordered.

"Kaori-san, are you ok? Does it hurt anywhere?" Mei asked.

Kaori could only cough.

"Damn it… is that really her Shadow? We were too late!" Ryu said.

"If she's still alive then it's not late!" Reiko told him.

**"Oh… it's you lot…"** Shadow Kaori said in a not-very-amused tone. She was still in her 'human' form and wore the same clothes as Kaori; her usual beige tank top and blue jeans. Her creepy yellow eyes were looking at the whole group with disgust.

After a quick check up, Mei decided that a bottle of medicine would be enough to make Kaori feel a bit better.

"Kaori-san, drink this." She offered her the bottle and Kaori accepted it and drank the content.

"T-Thanks…" She said, feeling a bit better than before.

"Kaori, are you ok?" Yui asked her close friend.

"Y-Yes Yui, I'm fine." She answered. "Good to see you're safe too."

**"Oh, come on, that's bullshit and you know it!"** Shadow Kaori yelled. **"You don't even mean that. In fact, the last thing you want is to see these people's faces!"**

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

**"Try all you want, but you can't deny me. I'm you, and you are me. I know exactly how you feel." **Shadow Kaori said, sounding somewhat angry. **"What you really want to do is tell these assholes to fuck off, but you're too scared of being alone, so you hide those emotions deep inside you. Well, I have news for you… I'M those emotions! Hello, nice to see you again!"** She sounded angrier with every sentence.

"Kaori… is that true?" Yui asked.

"N-NO! D-Don't listen to her; I don't know who she is! I-I don't think like that!" Kaori told them.

**"I told you, you can't deny me! You hate them all and you think about it every second they're near you!"**

"That's not true!" Kaori yelled.

"These are Kaori's hidden feelings? It kinda hurts…" Ryu said. He sounded sad. "I know we fight from time to time, but I didn't know you hated me…"

"Ryu, I don't hate you! Don't listen to her! I have no idea what she's talking about!"

"A person can't deny their Shadow…" Reiko sounded a bit hurt, too.

"Reiko-sempai…" Kaori looked like she was about to cry.

**"Why… why do you guys get to have a normal family and I don't!?" **Shadow Kaori yelled.

This surprised everyone.

**"You all live with both your father and your mother, and what do I get? A mother who's barely ever present and that left me in charge of some relatives in a town in the middle of nowhere!"**

"I see…Kaori, I didn't know you felt that way… I'm sorry." Haru said.

"What are you apologizing for, sempai!?" Kaori asked. "That thing doesn't know me! It's just lying! That thing might have my face, but it's not me! You hear me, you're not me!" She yelled at her Shadow.

The angry expression on the Shadow's face suddenly turned into an evil smirk. **"I told you many times, but you wouldn't listen. Very well then, I'll show you what happens when you try to deny your Shadow!"**

Black fog started to envelop Shadow Kaori, and just like it happened with Yui's Shadow, this one ate the fog as well.

"Oh crap… this one too!?" Ryu asked.

The Shadow's skin turned pitch black and a black and yellow mask formed on her face.

**"I wonder if your parents will feel the same way I do when they have to live their lives without their ****_precious _****sons and daughters…" **She laughed.

The real Kaori felt her body go weak and fell unconscious.

"Persona!" Yui called upon Igraine, who when summoned held her hostess shoulders. "Give me some time to try and figure out the Shadow's weakness, sempai!"

"We'll leave the scanning to you then, Yui-chan!" Reiko said.

"Yui, stay at Kaori's side!" Haru told her. "As for us, try not to summon your Persona. Right now we just need to buy some time for Yui!"

Haru unsheathed his greatsword from his back, while Reiko did the same with the cutlass on her waist. Ryu assumed a fighting position and Mei held her leather whip.

**"What? You're gonna fight even after hearing her true feelings!?"**

"Of course we are! Kaori is our friend. Why wouldn't we fight for her!?" Ryu asked, angrily.

"Her emotions just went out of control, creating you. We've known her for years, and even though she might feel that way towards us, we know there's more to her than that." Haru said, calmly.

"Once we beat you we'll take Kaori back home and when she's ready, we'll talk to her and sort things out, because that's what true friends do!" Reiko said.

"Kaori felt jealous of us for having normal families…?" Yui questioned. "Then we must do our best to defeat you! I have something to tell her!"

"Even though I've only known Kaori-san for a few weeks, I can't believe you're all of her!" Mei said. "All those times she laughed, all the times she smiled... there's no way a person can fake those emotions!"

**"****_Tsk!_**** To hell you with you all!"** The Shadow said as it prepared to attack.

"Sempai, I feel and electric attack coming!" Yui informed.

"Oh no you don't!" Ryu yelled as he gave Shadow Kaori a hard punch to the face. "I had enough electricity for one day, thank you very much!"

**"Damn you…" **That single punch seemed to do heavy damage. She raised her hand to summon an attack, but her wrist was suddenly caught by Mei's whip, who pulled hard and made the Shadow lost balance before she could free herself.

"I agree with Ryu! I'm not gonna let you do that!" Mei said.

Haru took advantage of the moment and charged at Shadow Kaori with his sword.

"Sempai, be careful! She's going to attack anyway!" Yui yelled.

Haru stopped just in time and crouched as a zionga spell almost hit him.

Reiko moved swiftly and got close enough to land a diagonal slash on the Shadow's chest, which made her jump back.

**"Damn you…!"**

"Thanks, Yui! You saved me there." Haru said.

"I've had enough of Shadows for today… you try to hurt my friends and that's something I just can't forgive!" Reiko said. She charged once more against the enemy, ready to attack again.

**"Get away from me, you pest."** Shadow Kaori tried to give Reiko a high kick to the head, but she blocked it with her sword. Still, the kick had such force that in sent Reiko away, making her fall.

Ryu decided to go for the in-fight. If it came to close combat, he should have the upper hand.

He got closer to the Shadow and gave her a barrage of heavy punches, but she crossed her arms and front of her face to block them. Ryu was getting pretty angry and sent one last powerful punch to the Shadow's chest, but it only managed to send her a few meters away. She was still standing.

"Damn it!" He cursed. "What's with that defense!?"

"She's not like Yui's Shadow. This one can't predict our attacks, but it's way tougher…" Haru noted.

"I've got it! Sempai, she's very strong against electric attacks and can use very powerful spells!" Yui informed. "Also, her arms seem to be really hard and she uses them to protect her body."

"So we need to penetrate that defense…" Haru said to himself.

"No weaknesses?" Reiko asked.

"Sorry, but no." Yui answered.

"That's ok, just means we'll have to break through with brute force!" Ryu said and punched the palm of his other hand.

"Agreed!" Reiko slashed the card of the Aeon Arcana and summoned Raja Naga, who casted matarukaja on the team, increasing their strength.

"Queen Mab!" Haru called a Persona of the Lovers Arcana to cast Rakunda on Shadow Kaori to decrease her defense.

The Shadow felt her arms get more fragile and grunted.

"Let's go for it, Lancelot!" The knight appeared and in that same instant charged to the Shadow with his shield up and lance ready to pierce.

Shadow Kaori dodge the attack by jumping high into the air.

"Got you!" Mei said. She aimed her evoker at her temple and shot to summon Freya. The Norse goddess in pink armor summoned a tornado which caused high damage on the Shadow, regardless of her defensive stance.

"Nice shot, Mei-sempai!" Yui cheered.

"Come forth, Power!" The red armored angel emerged from Haru and attacked Shadow Kaori with his spear as she was falling.

She landed hard on the ground and struggled to get up.

**"Y-You think you're so powerful…? Let me show you true power! Mazionga!"** Shadow Kaori snapped her fingers as she made an arm motion to summon powerful lightning bolts on top of the four closest Persona Users.

"Oh no! Be careful!" Yui called, but it was too late.

Haru, Mei and Ryu screamed in pain, since their Personas were weak to lightning, and fell to the ground, but Reiko's Raja Naga blocked the attack. Shadow Kaori used that opportunity to cast Dekaja on the team to return their strength back to normal.

"No more…" She said. "I've had enough of Shadows hurting my friends! Not anymore!" A card of the Chariot Arcana appeared in front of her.

"Ares!" She summoned the Greek god of war into battle. "We have to end this quickly so we can go home with our parents! And we'll take Yui and Kaori with us too!"

Ares dashed to Shadow Kaori and attacked with a powerful sword slash, sending her away.

"Wow… Reiko-sempai's Persona is so strong…" Yui said, amazed.

"I'm not done yet!" Reiko yelled. When the Shadow stood up Ares attacked again with great strength.

The three weakened members of the team began to stand up. Mei summoned her Persona to cast Media on them and heal their wounds.

"Damn it… I let my guard down when going on the offensive." Haru said. "Huh?"

The three noticed the scene that was playing before them. Reiko was taking on the Shadow all by herself.

"Wow! Go Reiko!" Ryu cheered.

"Amazing…" Mei was impressed.

"Oh boy, she's using Ares…" Haru said.

"So…?" Ryu questioned.

"You'll see later, for now let's just back her up." He crushed a card with his hand to summon Principality to cast Media on all of them.

"Thanks Brother!" Reiko said, regaining some energy ordering her Persona to charge in once again.

"How about a little boost?" Ryu asked and called Lancelot to cast Rakukaja on Reiko, which seemed to be perfectly timed since Shadow Kaori retaliated with a powerful Zionga. The lightning bolt hit Ares and the host felt the damage too, but thanks to Ryu's help, she was able to withstand it.

"Thanks Ryu!"

**"You're all so annoying!"** As Reiko prepared to attack again, Shadow Kaori jumped backwards.

"Don't run away!" Mei said, shooting herself to summon Freya to cast a Garula at the enemy.

Shadow Kaori managed to avoid it at the last second but when she realized, Ares was right in front of her face.

"For our parents, for my friends… This ends now!" Reiko yelled.

Ares made a vertical slash through Shadow Kaori, who screamed in pain.

**"DAMN YOU ALL! DAMN YOOOU!"**

The Shadow returned to her 'normal' form and fell to her knees. From there on she kept silent.

Reiko's Persona, Ares, vanished while she smiled and closed her eyes. She felt her legs go weak and strength leaving her body. She was about to fall but her brother was already behind her to hold her in place by holding her shoulders.

"I think you went a little overboard there…" He told her.

"Well, I had to…" She replied weakly, but happy.

"There's no kill like overkill I suppose…" Haru sighed.

"That was awesome!" Ryu told Reiko. "But… are you ok now?" He asked, noticing her condition.

"Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Should I heal you?" Mei asked.

"This is mental stress, healing spells won't effective for this." Haru said.

"Was it that bad, sempai?" The group heard Yui's voice really close to them, which was weird considering they were supposed to be relatively far. In her place, they saw one of the many lights that surrounded Igraine right beside them. The group looked confused. "Oh, it seems I can talk to you through these things."

"Cool." Ryu said.

"Well, the thing is… Ares is right in the limit of Sis's current power, so although she can control it, it's way to tiring for her right now." Haru explained. "Sit down for a while." He told Reiko.

"Urgh…" Yui heard Kaori say.

"Kaori, you're awake!" She said.

"What's going on?" Kaori asked, weakly. "I feel dizzy…"

"You denied your Shadow… and we had to fight it." Yui answered.

"My… Shadow?" Kaori looked ahead to see someone that looked just like her. "That's right… I…"

"Kaori… is it true that you hate us?" Ryu asked.

"No…! That's not true… I promise." She said. "I don't hate you guys… it's just…" She stopped talking, stood up and walked to her Shadow.

"I just envy you." She sounded sad. "You have normal families while I only get to see my mother every once in a while. But that's not the problem. I love my mother, and I understand that she's doing her job. She's always there for me when I need her, but… She won't even tell me who my father is. I don't know anything about him! Where is he? Is he alive? What was he like? If he is alive, does he know I exist? Did he just not want me? It's hard to grow up with those doubts in your mind all the time, so I envied you for having a complete family and with time… I think those feeling turned into hate without me noticing. I'm sorry, I know it's not fair, but I couldn't help it…"

"We're the ones who should be sorry…" Haru said. "We've known you for years and never even thought you might feel this way."

"Kaori, you might not have a father, but know that there are a lot of people who care about you." Yui told her. "You have your uncle and aunt whom you live with, you have your mother and you have us and our parents that care about you too! They all came here to rescue us because of that!"

"See? Even though you don't have a father, you're definitely not alone!" Ryu said.

"You… you guys aren't angry at me? The things my Shadow said…"

"We'd be lying if we said it didn't hurt, be we know you're more than that." Reiko said. "Maybe you did kind of hate us, but you had your reasons."

"Reiko-sempai…" Kaori smiled. "I see, I was focusing so hard on what I didn't have that I didn't see all the people around me, those that really care… Haha, I'm so stupid." Her laugh sounded sad.

"But I can finally see it now…" She looked at her Shadow, who was looking at her, too. "Those bitter feelings had grown inside of me because of my inability to see what truly matters… Yes, you really are me, aren't you?"

Shadow Kaori nodded before vanishing and reappearing as Kaori's new Persona.

She wore a long and very elegant white dress with golden decorations on it. In her hands she wore golden gloves. Her blond hair was really long and curled.

"Is this… my Persona?" Kaori asked. "Guinevere…" Feeling her body go weak, she fell to her knees.

"Woah there...!" Ryu ran over to her, as did Yui.

"Are you ok?" Yui asked Kaori.

"Not really… I feel tired and dizzy." She said.

"Then let's get out of here. I feel really tired, too." Ryu said.

"Come on Sis." Haru offered Reiko his hand.

She took it and tried to stand on her own, but failed and fell again.

"Ow…"

"You're even worse than I thought…" Haru told her. He sighed. "Fine… hop on." He offered to carry her on his back.

Reiko accepted the offer and did as told.

"Mission complete then, right Brother?" Reiko asked.

"Wait, our parents are still fighting, right? Mei said. "If not, they would already be here…"

"You're right Mei-sempai. I can feel a lot of powerful presences." Yui said. "And it seems they're still fighting."

"Haru, what do we do?" Ryu asked.

"…"

"Haru-kun?" Mei asked, since Haru wasn't responding.

"We'll take Kaori and Yui back to our world first. If they're still not done, we'll come back to see what we can do." Haru said.

Everyone stayed silent. Leave their parents alone? Of course they didn't want to do that, but taking the girls to safety was first priority.

"Kaori, can you walk?" Haru asked.

"I don't think so, sempai." She answered.

"I see. Ryu, carry her." He ordered.

"What!? Why me!?" Ryu asked, trying not to sound embarrassed.

"Because I'm carrying my sister here." Haru answered.

Ryu let out a heavy sigh. "Fine…"

"Hey, I'm not any happier than you are!" Kaori said but immediately regretted the loud tone in which she did, since it made her feel even worse than she already did.

"Come on, let's go" Haru ordered and everyone moved out.

* * *

"Garudyne!" Takehaya Susano-o sent a strong wind spell at Obsidian, the new form of the golden Shadow.

The enemy took great damage from that one hit.

"Primal Force!" Kanji summoned his Persona, who attacked the Shadow with great power.

**"What is this…!?"** Obsidian yelled.

"What's wrong!? You can't win without your tricks!?" Kanji yelled back.

"God's Hand!" Chie's Persona summoned a giant golden hand to strike.

"Yukiko!" Yukari called.

"Right!" She answered.

Side by side, the two summoned their Personas at the same time. Slowly, a wind tornado began to form at the bottom of Obsidian. Then, that wind was engulfed in fire.

"**Wild Fire Tornado!**" The two women said at the same time.

As the name said, a giant tornado of wild flames formed from the Shadow's feet to the top of the dome.

**"AAAAAHHHH!"** Obsidian screamed in pain.

"Take that!" Yukiko and Yukari smirked.

**"How…. How are you so powerful!?" **The Shadow asked.

"Years of practice…" Naoto said, adjusting her hat. "Megidolaon!" Yamato Sumeragi's powerful almighty spell hit the Shadow dead center in its chest.

"The Shadow's weak, finish it off!" Rise yelled.

"Izanagi!"

"Orpheus!"

The two Wild Cards summoned their first Personas and they synchronized with each other.

"**Origin!" **The leaders yelled in unison.

A dark cloud appeared above Obsidian and a huge torrent of thunder and flames combined came down upon it with incredible strength.

**"Brothers…! I'm sorry… I'll be joining you sooner than expected…"** The Shadow slowly began to vanish, as did the dome of almighty magic that had them trapped.

"_Phew_, finally!" Yosuke said. The whole group looked relieved, too.

"Those things weren't that strong… they just relied on dirty tricks!" Chie said. "Well, this is what happens to cheaters!"

"There's no time. We have to hurry up and catch up with Haru's group!" Naoto said.

"!?" Rise gasped.

"No need. We're done." Haru said.

The group of veterans turned their heads to see the whole group of kids, along with Yui and Kaori. They looked beaten up with their clothes a bit torn and burn marks here and there, but still healthy enough.

"YUI!" Kanji and Naoto called their daughter's name at the same time and ran over to her.

"KAORI!" Rise quickly dismissed her Persona and ran over to see her own daughter who was being carried by Ryu.

"Mei!" Yukari ran to see her daughter while Minato walked more calmly. "Are you ok? Look at you, your clothes, they look burnt! You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm ok mom, really. Sorry about my clothes, bur electricity seems to do that…" Mei laughed awkwardly.

"ELECTRICITY!?" Minato yelled. "That's your weakness! Are you really ok!? Did you use Dia already!? Yukari, use Salvation!"

"Woah there, calm down, Minato. She says she fine, and she looks fine." Yukari sweat dropped and tried to calm her husband. He sometimes overreacted when it came to his daughter's safety.

"Dad… I'm sorry. The scarf you gave me is ruined…"

Minato calmed down and hugged Mei. "The only thing that's important is that you're safe… nothing else."

"Oh my god, Reiko!" Yukiko ran over to her son who was carrying his sister on his back. Yu quickly followed her. "Are you ok? What happened to you?"

"Her Persona was too strong for her and she got exhausted." Haru answered for his sister. "She kicked ass, though."

"Oh, Persona Exhaustion… I'm surprised you're still conscious after that... But still, I'm happy to see you both safe." Yu said, smiling.

"Hey, I'm tougher than I look!" Reiko said, laughing.

"I'll carry her from now on, Haru." Yu told his son and Reiko switch from her brother's back to her father's.

"Ryu, you're not hurt, are you?" Yosuke asked.

"Of course he's hurt! Just look at him!" Chie yelled at her husband sounding worried. "What are you waiting for, heal him!"

"Mom, I'm fine, seriously! I don't need more healing!" Ryu answered.

"Kaori, you must be really tired… come on, let's get you home." Rise said.

"Yeah… I am." Kaori smiled widely at her mother. "Thanks for coming to get me…"

"Don't be silly, of course I would come!" Rise told her, almost starting to cry. "Ryu, let me carry her."

"Huh? Oh, ok." Ryu said and gently left Kaori on the ground so she could hop onto her mother's back.

"Yui, you look… well… healthy. I mean, for having been her for some time." Naoto said, surprised, but happy nonetheless. "What happened?"

"Well, I faced my shadow and got a Persona. I wanted to fight to get Kaori back, too, so Haru-sempai made us drink something called 'soma' and we all felt better!" Yui summed up. "I'm feeling tired now, though."

"A Persona… and you said you fought already!?" Kanji asked, alarmed. "But… you don't even have a scratch."

"Oh, Haru-sempai said mine's a support Persona, like Aunt Rise's, so technically I didn't fight. Just gave them information…"

"I see. Well, you can tell us all this later, we have to get you out of here." Naoto said.

"Right, right! Let's get out." Kanji said.

"I'm so _beary_ happy to see you're all safe!" Teddie said. "The Shadows gave us a lot of trouble, and everyone was getting desperate to finish the fight and go after you guys and we were almost defeated, but then…!"

"Ok, that's enough Ted!" Yosuke said. "I'm sure they're all tired and just want to go home."

"Right… sorry."

"Come on, let's go back. It's been a long day…"

The Personas users moved to the entrance and stood in front of the set of TVs, as they went through it one by one.

"Hey dad!" Ryu called. "Are we still having pizza for dinner tonight?" He asked.

His parents chuckled. "Sure." They both answered, smiling.

* * *

**A/N: **Some things to say here. I came up with the Persona Exhaustion thing out of nowhere… I thought it could work. I tried to give Reiko some more spotlight… but I'm still not happy. It's hard for me to write a female co-protagonist…

Second, I thought of a fusion spell that could work using Orpheus and Izanagi. I came up with the name 'Origin' thinking that these were their first Personas and also that some people say that fire was discovered from lightning. Oh, and I was watching Fairy Tail a few weeks ago and thought the combination of fire and lightning was cool, sue me! (pls don't)

Third, sorry I suck with descriptions… I would like to give you more detailed information about how the Personas are, especially the ones I come up with, but for some reason I can't…

Well, hope you liked this chapter! I think it'll be a while before the next one comes up, but I promise it will!


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **It's been almost a month but I'm back! Sorry this took so long, but university has been holding me back! So many test, papers and stuff! AARGH! Besides, I had this chapter finished but I didn't like it, so I had to re-write it from scratch.I'm very sorry for the delay…

I've got a lot to say here… so I'll try to keep it short.

I'm mad right now. I knew I should've played Persona 4 Arena before writing this, but I didn't, and now that I did, I found that there's a lot of stuff I didn't know and it contradicts my story. (For example, Personas CAN exist in the real world.)

So… I have two options:

One: Try to work around this stuff, which will be very hard, and try to keep it as close as canon as possible.

Two: Just say "fuck it" and continue as I was without considering the stuff that contradicts my story.

Another thing is… the moment most of you have been waiting for is very close! This chapter is sort of an intro, but we're finally gonna see what happened with Minato.

Also, this chapter has some weird changes in POVs, but I think they're _ok._

Time to answer questions!

**ADeadDiehard: **You asked and I delivered. We finally got to the _ARC_ about Minato's return, but this chapter is just and into. As for a female protagonist… the problem I have is that I have thought of the way Haru will develop, but I can't seem to think of something for Reiko… Oh well, I'll manage.

**Ice Wolf Fang: **YOU! As far as I know you already know how this story will end! But yeah, most of the things you suggested through PMs I have already thought of, but maybe it's because that's the _Persona style_? I don't know, lol.

**SorinTheTactician: **I kinda took your suggestion on Persona Exhaustion. You'll see it in this chapter.

**Michiyo Makino: **Thanks. I've been getting used to write female characters, but I still have some problems when one of them is a protagonist… We'll see how it goes.

**Maict: **Yeah, this story is also has some romance into it, so to be loyal to Persona 3 and 4, I put a small love triangle… it's not gonna be too much drama, though. I don't really like drama. And about canon names… I know what you mean. I like Yu's name, but Makoto… Well, he's staying as Minato in here.

**steel0face6: **Thanks for the criticism. I know what you mean… I suck at descriptions and that's mostly because my vocabulary in English isn't that wide… even more when it comes to things such as clothes and stuff. I need to read more. I also thought of doing the social links progress just as it did in P4 the would be easier. Thanks a lot for your words! Do look forward to next chapters!

* * *

**Chapter 16 **

Right after successfully accomplishing the mission of rescuing Kaori and Yui, every family felt tired and went back to their homes for a quick dinner and well earned rest.

In the Amagi household, although they had a lot to talk about, everyone went to bed early since they still had to work and go to school the next day.

The teens though, not used to the great fatigue that comes with continuous hard fights, woke up later than what they would've wanted.

_'Crap… what time is it?'_ Haru asked in his head as he woke up and looked at his cell phone. _'7:42…'_

…

…

"Fuck…" He quickly jumped out of his futon, ran to the bathroom to take an incredibly fast shower, got dressed and knocked hard on Reiko's and Mei's doors to wake them up. All this in record time.

Mei was faster than Reiko and, just like Haru, ran to the bathroom to take a fast shower and got dressed. Reiko did the same but took slightly longer.

As the girls got ready, Haru drank a big cup of milk and got a couple of packed yogurts ready so the girls could eat them on the bus. It wasn't much, but there wasn't more time for anything else.

When the three of them were on the kitchen, Haru passed them their yogurts and they thanked him. They all looked tired, but Reiko even had eye bags. She didn't look well.

"Are you ok Reiko-san? You don't look so good…" Mei said.

"Huh? I'm fine! Come on, let's hurry!" Contrary to her words, she didn't sound fine.

"Sis, maybe you should skip school for today." Haru suggested. "Mom did say that Persona Exhaustion can be really bad if not treated carefully."

The whole group of veterans had seen their leaders go through it many times when using strong Personas. They knew the after effects of Persona Exhaustion. The team even decided to give it a name for future references.

"It's nothing, seriously! Come on, we'll be late!" She finally said and ran out on her own.

Haru sighed while Mei just looked worried. In the end they decided to just follow her.

They took the bus and managed to get to school just in time as the bell rang. In the classroom, Haru and Mei took their seats next to each other while Reiko sat behind her brother, next to her friend Emi.

"Reiko, are you feeling ok?" Emi asked. "You don't look very good…"

"I'm fine Emi-chan. I just had trouble sleeping." Reiko made and excuse.

Before Emi could question her further, the English teacher entered the classroom and classes began for the day.

* * *

"Hey, how do you think Yui-chan and Kaori-san are doing?" Mei asked Haru as they stood up to have lunch along with Reiko and Ryu.

Kaori and Yui were absent from school today because of the extreme exhaustion that comes with awakening to your Persona.

"I'm sure they're fine." Haru answered. "They should be ok as long as they rest."

"Let's go to the roof. I don't feel like eating around so many people today." Reiko said.

"Agreed." Haru said. They met with Ryu and headed to the roof to eat the boxed lunches their parents had prepared for them the day before.

"Hey, why don't we go check up on Yui and Kaori after school?" Ryu suggested once they arrived at the roof. "I'm worried about them."

"We should give them at least one more day of rest before going to visit." Haru said. "They might even still be sleeping."

"Oh, right…"

"Then let's go tomorrow. I'm worried about them as well." Mei said. Haru nodded.

"Yeah, I am too, but they should be fine."

"_ACHOO!"_ Reiko sneezed. "S-Sorry…"

"Are you ok, Reiko?" Ryu asked her. "You look like hell…"

"I-I'm fine! Sheesh, how many people are going to ask me that today!?" She asked, angrily.

"Have you seen yourself in a mirror? You don't look particularly healthy." Haru told her.

"Well, I feel fi-_ACHOO!_" Reiko sneezed again. The other three kept silent and just looked at her. "J-Just eat you food!" She told them and concentrated on eating her own boxed lunch.

The others did as told and let her be… for now.

* * *

Classes ended and Ryu parted ways with the twins and Mei at the Shopping District.

"_ACHOO!"_ Reiko sneezed yet once more in the day. "Ok, maybe I don't feel as good as I thought I did…" She said with a very stuffy nose.

"_Sigh..._ Come on, let's get you home. You need to rest." Haru said.

"Yeah… ok." Reiko surrendered.

"Should we take the bus again?" Mei asked. Haru nodded.

After a few minutes of waiting, they hopped on the bus and headed home.

When they arrived, Reiko said hello to everyone and went directly to her room.

"Is Reiko sick?" Yukiko asked her son.

"Yeah… I told her she should skip school for today since tomorrow's the last day anyway, but she didn't listen."

"I'll make her some of my special curry later. That'll make her feel better!" Haru almost cringed. His mother's curry… it wasn't very good, to say the least. "_Sigh..._ and there was something we had to tell to two of you… Can you go tell her while I prepare the curry?"

"Sure, what is it?"

* * *

Reiko prepared her futon, changed her clothes for her pajamas and went straight to bed. She really wasn't feeling very well.

There was a sudden knock on her door.

"Sis, it's me. Can I come in? I need to tell you something." Haru said from the other side.

"Yeah… come in." She answered with the usual voice of a sick person. Haru opened the door and entered Reiko's room. "What is it?"

"Mom gave me some news… she said I should tell you too." He said in a very calm tone.

"Well, what is it?"

Haru couldn't hold it anymore. He smiled. Not like he usually did. Most of the time, he smiled because it was polite, or because it seemed right for the moment. This time, though, it was a simple yet genuine smile.

Reiko was thrown off. It's a very rare sight to see Haru smile like that.

"Ok, now I'm REALLY curious. What is it!? Tell me!" Reiko demanded.

Haru kept his smile. "Aunt Nanako and Grandpa Ryo are coming back in a few days."

Reiko was shocked at first and had a deadpan expression, which later turned into a wide smile.

"Y-You're not kidding!? They're finally coming back from the city!?" Haru nodded.

"Apparently Aunt Nanako's own aunt is finally out of the hospital and can go back to her home."

"So they can finally come back! YAY! _Cough._" Not even her cold could stop her from being as happy as she was now.

Yu's cousin Nanako and his uncle Ryoutaro Dojima had gone to the city to check up on a relative, the sister of Nanako's deceased mother. She had been hospitalized due to extreme stress from overworking. Since she only lives with her 20 year old son, Nanako and Ryoutaro decided to go help her with anything she could need.

"How long has it been since they left?" Reiko asked.

"Three months now, I think…" Haru answered.

"Wow… they're finally coming back! Nothing can depress me now!"

"Ok, let me try…" Haru said. This confused his sister. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke. "Mom's making you her special curry." With that, he left Reiko's room.

"Eh…?" A moment of confusion in Reiko's mind. "EEEEEEHH!?"

* * *

"The busy season it's just around the corner…" Yu commented while having dinner with everyone in the living room. Only Reiko was missing since she was still resting in her room.

"We'll be having a lot of work." Yukiko said. "You and your sister will have to help certain days of the week, ok Haru?"

"Yeah, I know. Just like every year." He answered and ate some rice.

"Hey, don't forget about us! We're here to work, too!" Yukari told them.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten. I have you two considered as full-time employees." Yu told them and they laughed. "But seriously, we appreciate the help."

"It's the least we can do…" Minato said.

"I can help whenever you want, too." Mei said.

"Thanks Mei-chan. I'll keep that in mind." Yukiko told her. "Oh, that's right. Remember that since it's the busy season again we can't use the hot-springs as often." Yukiko said to her son and husband, but also informed the Arisatos.

"Mind if I use them tonight though?" Haru asked.

"Of course not. Just remember to use them after they're closed for guest." His mother told him. He nodded.

* * *

In the hot-springs, Haru allowed himself some time to think. He had the whole pool for himself, but he stayed near the edge with his back to the door and both hands behind his back as he looked to the stars.

It weren't pleasant thoughts that filled his head this time, though.

At dinner, Haru had to report to Minato and his father about yesterday's 'rescue operation'. He told them everything, but that got him thinking.

The Shadows he and his team faced weren't like Ryu's or any others. These seemed smarter… and more powerful.

Also, the way they appeared… it was like the shadows were forced to come out. They fed on the fog and transformed in a different way than the others…

_'What the hell does that mean…?'_ Haru thought as he frowned. _'Whoever the enemy is, it's targeting us… but now that we all have Personas, what will it do?'_

'**You must stay alert. Awakening to your Persona doesn't mean you're completely safe.'**

_'What do you mean?'_ Haru asked his Persona, Arthur.

**'You might have the power to fight back, but if you lose control over yourself, your Persona might turn into a Shadow again.'**

_'Is that so… damn.' _Haru sighed. _'Well, I guess it makes sense since they're basically the same thing…'_

**'What is it that's really troubling you?'** Arthur asked.

_'You can tell, huh?' _

**'I am your Persona, one of the many sides of your psyche. You can't hide things from us.'**

_'I know. Stupid question.' _Haru told him. _'It's just that… last time, that thing tried to kidnap Mei here, in the real world. Now, he pulled Kaori and Yui into the TV world. I don't understand his reasons… What is he trying to accomplish? What if the enemy acts under our noses…? I just don't know a lot of things… and I hate that.'_

**'What are you planning on doing?'**

_'That's the problem! I don't have a plan!'_ Haru told Arthur. He was angry at himself. "Argh!"

Haru submerged into the water for a few seconds then got out. His wet black hair was long enough to slightly cover his eyes, so he brushed it off with his hand.

Then, he heard the sliding door open. Curious, Haru looked back to see his father and Minato walking inside, wearing nothing more than a towel.

"Hey son. Mind if we join you?" Yu asked.

"_Sigh..._ Go ahead." He answered.

The two adults got into the hot spring. The three Wild Cards were silently relaxing, enjoying the hot water of the Amagi Onsen.

"Aah… this is great!" Minato said, feeling pretty relaxed. "Hot springs used to bring back bad memories… they still do, actually, but at least we can enjoy them now without much danger."

"You said it. The first time I stepped into this place I got out with lumps in my head…" Yu said, scratching his head while remembering a not-to-pleasant moment.

"How so?" Haru asked his father.

"Well, when I was in high school your mother invited us all to spend the night here at the Inn right after the school's cultural festival was over. We got a call from the front desk saying the hot springs should be empty by now and we, guys, could use them. But when we got here, the girls were still bathing and threw everything they could at us." Yu told the story.

"Ouch… that doesn't seem fair." Haru said.

"I still think that was nothing compared to what I got." Minato said. "When I was in high school, we went on a school trip to Kyoto. Two friends of mine had the _brilliant_ idea to go into the hot springs at a weird time. While we were there, the time changed from boys only to girls only and our friends came in. Maybe we could've talked our way through that mess… if Mitsuru hadn't been there." He shivered in the hot water just from the memory.

"The same Mitsuru-san we know?" Haru asked.

"Yes. The one and only Mitsuru Kirijo. She was so mad at us that she…" Minato stopped for a second. "She… executed us."

"W-What does that mean…?" Haru hesitated to ask.

"… You don't want to know." Minato told him with a _very_ serious and scared face.

Haru just gulped and nodded.

"Let our experiences serve as a lesson for you, Haru." Minato told him. "Girls can be dangerous… I'm not joking."

"Believe us; I even got hit with lightning in here…" Yu said. Haru looked extremely confused. "Oh, it was your Aunt Marie. Yosuke and Teddie were trying to peek on the girls and got spotted. Then lightning happened." He sighed. "That reminds me. We got a call from Naoto a while ago." He told Haru. "She finally got in contact with Marie in China. She said she should be arriving in Japan in a few days, a week, tops."

"Hopefully she'll be able to give us some answers… though I have my doubts." Minato said.

The three shared a heavy sigh.

"I don't know what's going on... and the enemy seems to be targeting us specifically." Haru said. He looked at the palm of his hand as he talked. "There's only so much we can do... but I do know one thing." He closed his hand into a fist. "We will fight and we will win… I'm not letting that thing use my friends as if they were toys!" He frowned and clenched his fist even harder. "We now posses the power of Persona, so please let us fight."

Haru looked at his Wild Card predecessors, who were looking at him with smiles in their faces.

"You all did a great job in the last mission, Haru." Yu said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "You protected your friends and lead your team to victory. I can't tell you how proud I am."

"You all still have a long way to go, but I'm sure you'll become strong… maybe even stronger than us one day." Minato told him. "But that will only happen if you all stay together as a team and as friends."

"Bonds with people are true power. Remember that." Yu told Haru, who nodded at these words.

The three spent some more time in the hot springs, relaxing and talking.

* * *

Meanwhile, as she walked through one of the outside corridors of the Inn, Mei spotted Reiko sitting on the edge, looking at the stars. Reiko was wearing a white robe and her silver hair looked real messy.

"Reiko-san! You shouldn't be out here; your cold will only get worse!" Mei told her.

"I know…" Reiko said with a stuffy nose. "But I just couldn't help it… the stars are beautiful tonight." She looked up one again.

Mei took a seat beside her.

"Yeah… they really are." She said.

"I still can't believe I got a cold! It's so frustrating!" Reiko said. "I guess I should've known better than to use such a strong Persona in the last fight…" She sighed. "I'm sure Brother would've come up with a plan to beat the Shadow, but I rushed it and, well… this is the result."

"If you think about it, it's not such a high price to pay… you just have to rest for a while and you'll get better, right?"

"You're right, but still… I have to learn to think things through. Imagine if I hadn't been able to beat the Shadow. I would've been defenseless and a burden to you all."

"Things worked out in the end, didn't they?" Mei tried to comfort Reiko.

"_Sigh..._ I guess."

"… You know, I really admire what you did back there…" Mei said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Reiko was confused.

"I mean that, even though you knew what would happen to you if you used that Persona, you still fought your all for the sake of your friends. You put your life on the line to protect them… that was incredible, Reiko-san. I don't know if I'd ever be able to do that…"

"What are you talking about? You did something just as crazy as me!" Reiko told Mei. "You protected Yui-chan with your own body so she wouldn't be hurt, even though you barely know her! I think that's pretty awesome and… well, thanks for doing that." Reiko smiled at her.

"N-No… I… I just… didn't want her to get hurt… that's all. I just… wanted to be helpful…"

"And you were. I don't think we could've completed the rescue if you hadn't been there with us!"

Mei smiled. "Thanks, Reiko-san."

"When will you stop with the _Reiko-san_? Just call me Reiko!"

"_Snrk…_ Heehee…!" Mei couldn't hold it anymore and started to laugh. "S-Sorry… ahahaha!" There were even tears in her eyes and she tried to suppress her laughter.

"_Sigh..._ I guess it's hard to take me seriously when I'm talking like this, isn't it…?" It was Reiko's way of talking when she was sick that made Mei laugh. "I guess it is kind of funny… ahahaha!" She began to laugh with her.

After a while, they stopped.

"But in all seriousness, you were really awesome back there, Reiko-san… I mean, Reiko." Mei corrected.

"I guess I was… hehe." She scratched her nose. "I should go back to bed before Mom makes me some more of her curry…" She shuddered. "I can still taste the last one…"

"Is it really that bad?"

"Well, she usually cooks well enough to be edible, but her curry is kind of… special."

"How so?"

"She said it's a family recipe to treat sick people… though sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Take my advice and try to stay as healthy as possible." She sighed.

"R-Right…!" Mei sweat dropped.

"Let's go inside, shall we?"

"Actually, I'm gonna stay here for a while… The stars really are pretty tonight." Mei said as she looked up.

"Yeah. Well, see you tomorrow."

"Sleep well!"

They said goodnight to each other and Reiko returned to her room to rest.

_'Maybe I should skip school tomorrow…'_ She thought. _'If this cold doesn't kill me, the stomachache will…'_

* * *

The next day, Haru and Mei were walking to school through the Flood Plains when Ryu ran up to them from behind.

"Hey, where's Reiko?" He asked.

"She's still sick." Mei answered.

"Although now it could be either a cold or a stomachache…" Haru said.

"Your mom's curry?" Ryu asked. Haru nodded. "Ouch. Well, today's our last day of school! Also, Aunt Rise called this morning. She said Kaori's finally awake! Wanna go visit her after school?"

"Sure, why not." Haru answered. "You coming?" He asked Mei.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm worried about her and Yui-chan. I wonder how she is…"

_"Who knows, maybe she'll wake up while we're in school." Ryu said. _

* * *

After School, Mei, Ryu and me, headed to the Shopping District and went directly to Kaori's house, the tofu shop Marukyu.

"Oh, hello there, Haru-kun, Ryu-kun. Are you here to see Kaori?" The woman, who seemed to be tending the store, asked us. She had dark brown hair and wore a white apron. She looked like she was in her late 30's.

"Yes ma'am!" Ryu said.

"Mmh? I don't believe we've met. You must be Mei! Kaori told us about you." The woman said. "You and your family moved in with Haru-kun's family, right?"

"Yes. I'm Mei Arisato, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. My name's Akane. I am Kaori's aunt. Kaori's in her room. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you all, so go ahead."

"Thank you." I said.

We went to the second floor where all the rooms were. Since Ryu and I have been here before, we know exactly where Kaori's room is.

Ryu knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Kaori asked from the other side.

"It's us! We came to see you!" Ryu answered.

"Who's 'us'?"

"Just let us come in!" Ryu yelled.

"Fine, fine… come in."

Ryu opened the door and we found Kaori sitting on her bed with the sheets covering her legs. She was wearing a yellow sleeping robe and her hair looked really messy.

"Yo. How're you doing? You look terrible…" Ryu said as we got into the room.

"Shut up! I didn't know you guys would come!" Kaori said, blushing and trying to fix her long, blond hair.

"How have you been feeling, Kaori-san?" Mei asked.

"I'm feeling better than before… I can go to the bathroom by myself, now." She answered.

"Is that too much information? I think that's too much information…" Ryu said.

"Well, at least she's back to her usual self…" I said and sighed.

"Hey… where's Reiko-sempai?"

"Sick. She got a cold yesterday and skipped school today." I answered her question.

"Oh, I see. Well, tell her I'm fine when you get back. Oh, and that I hope she gets better soon!"

"Just focus on regaining your own strength, Kaori." I told her.

"Aww… are you worried about me, sempai?" She asked, almost teasingly.

"Of course I am." I answered with a straight face. This actually surprised her and made her blush for some reason... "You got kidnapped and awakened to your Persona. We're all worried about you and Yui."

"Oh… of course." Now she sounds depressed? What's going on? "Hey, what have I missed from school?" And now back to normal!? What's with the mood swings!?

"Not much, really. Today was the last day, so we're officially on summer break." Mei told her.

"R-Really!?" Kaori's eyes shined like the sun. "YAY!" She threw her arms at the air in happiness.

"Too bad you'll be spending the next few days in bed, haha!" Ryu laughed.

"Urgh, shut up! You'll see, I'll get better in no time!" Kaori told him.

We spent the next half hour talking about anything, as if nothing had happened two days ago. I guess none of us really wanted to talk about it yet. Time flew quickly for us.

"Well, we better go now. You need to rest if you really want to get better quickly." I told Kaori.

"We should go see if Yui's already awake." Ryu said.

"Aww, already?" Kaori whined.

"We wouldn't want to cause trouble if we stay here for too long." Mei said.

"She's right, Kaori." I said. "See ya. Get better soon."

We grabbed our bags, said goodbye to Kaori's aunt and left the shop, now heading to Tatsumi Textiles.

* * *

I opened the door to the shop and we were greeted by Yui's grandmother, who was now tending the store.

"Welcome!" She said. "Oh, it's you kids, it's nice to see you." She smiled at us, then looked towards Mei. "And you must be Mei-chan. Nice to meet you. I'm Yui's grandmother."

Mei was surprised that she was recognized so quickly, but she quickly dismissed it and introduced herself.

"We came to see how Yui's doing." I said.

"Is she still sleeping?" Ryu asked.

"I believe she is. I'm sorry." She answered.

"Really? Oh man…! Well, can't be helped I guess." Ryu said, bummed.

"It's a bit strange, though…" Uncle Kanji's mother said. "If I remember correctly, her father also passed through something similar when he was in high school… He slept for days before waking up."

"I-Is that so…" Ryu tried not to sound nervous.

Of course, we knew the reasons, but we couldn't tell her we did, or it would raise suspicion.

"I think her mother also suffered from something similar…" She continued. "Oh, but don't worry. As you can see, both of them recovered fairly quickly."

"That's good to hear." Mei said. "I hope she gets better soon."

"I'm sure she will, dear." The old woman smiled kindly at us.

"Well, we better go then." I said. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. Please come see Yui once she's awake. I'm sure it'll make her happy."

"We will, I promise!" Ryu told her.

"Oh, and one more thing! Haru-kun, would you mind telling your mother that the order of new kimonos will be ready in a few days? I wouldn't want to bother her by calling. I know she's a busy woman."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll tell her."

"Thank you very much, dear. You know, the more I look at you, the more I notice how much you look like your mother when she was young." She smiled at me once again. "Which reminds me, where's your sister?"

"She's resting at home. She got a cold yesterday and took the day off."

"I see. That's too bad. I hope she gets better soon."

"Don't worry. She's tougher than she looks." I said. I looked at my friends. "Shall we go?"

The two nodded, we said our goodbyes and left the store.

"So… what now?" Ryu asked.

"I don't know…" I told him.

We heard Mei's stomach growl. We looked at her and saw her face red as a tomato.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"I-I… well… yes…" She said, looking down in embarrassment.

"Let's go eat something. Have you been to Souzai Daigaku yet, sempai?" Ryu asked her.

"N-No, not yet."

"Then steak it is!" He said, pointing a finger in direction to the meat stand.

"Sure. You're paying this time, though." I said and began walking.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

We arrived at the store only to found it closed.

"'_Sorry for the trouble, we'll open again tomorrow'"_ Mei read the sign in one of the walls.

"That's odd… this rarely ever happens." I said.

"I wonder what happened…" She said.

"Hey Haru…" Ryu called me. "You think this is related to the meat thief they were talking about the other day?"

"Meat thief?" Mei asked.

"There seems to be an animal around here stealing the meat…" I told her. "I didn't know it was this bad, though. Well, there's nothing we can do about it…"

"Oh well, since the place it's closed, I guess I should go home. See ya around!"

"Ryu, what are you-"

"Bye!" Ryu said and took off running.

I sighed. "He just left because he didn't want to pay for anything else…" I looked at Mei. _Sigh…_ how much money do I have? "Do you like Chinese food?"

"Huh? Y-yes…"

"Come on, let's go to Aiya's" I said. "My treat."

"It's ok, you don't have to!" She protested.

"It's ok. The owner might even know something about the meat thief."

"Well…" Her stomach growled again. "S-Sorry…"

"Come on, the restaurant's nearby." I said and began walking. She followed me.

* * *

We sat at the counter since I wanted to talk to the owner about the meat thief thing, but I kinda forgot about it when our food arrived.

I was little shocked when I saw Mei eating her beef bowl. It was an extra large bowl and she was eating it so quickly! She finished her food before I could even finish half of mine. Then again, I don't eat much and I'm somewhat slow at it.

"Do you normally eat this much?" I asked. "I haven't seen you eat this much at home…" Seriously, if she normally eats this much, then how does she stay so fit?

"Is it that weird…?" She asked me. She sounded both sad and embarrassed.

"No, I don't mean it in a bad way. It's just a bit surprising, that's all."

"Yeah, I guess it is…" She had a wry smile on her face. "My mom says I inherited dad's high metabolism, so I can eat as much as I want without gaining much weight. I also like to do some exercise, like walking, jogging and stuff like that, and this last month we've been training in deferent ways to fight against Shadows. I guess it's no surprise that, when people find out how much I really eat, they find it weird… I mean, it's not well seen when a girl eats this much…"

"Nah, I don't think it's weird." I told her. "If you like to eat and you can do it without it affecting your health, then that's great. How many people can actually do that?"

"Heh heh, I guess you're right. Thanks." She giggled. "On the contrary, I notice that you don't eat much, Haru-kun."

"I guess I don't… I get satisfied easily. I might even have some troubles at dinner tonight." I looked down at my ramen bowl. Yep, I'm gonna have troubles eating tonight.

"What's this? Haru-kun, are you on a date?" We heard a woman's voice from behind the counter. That was Aika-san, the current owner of the restaurant. She had navy blue hair and was wearing a white apron over a red shirt. She used to go to school with my parents, so I guess she has around the same age.

"What!? N-no, we aren't-" Mei hurried to explain.

"We just came here to eat something." I explained calmly. Why did she get so worked up? "By the way Aika-san, I wanted to ask you something."

"What would that be?" She asked back.

"Do you know anything about the meat thief that's been attacking Souzai Daigaku?"

"Nope, not much. It's been happening to us as well, but all the clues we have is some animal hair left. It always attacks when no one's watching."

"So it's been happening here, too…" I said.

"Oh, but there's this rumor going around…" Aika-san said.

"What rumor?" Mei asked.

"Supposedly, someone saw a suspicious looking animal that resembled a wolf, but it was unnaturally big, like two meters high! They say its shadow was spotted near the outskirt of town…"

"A wolf in this area…?" Mei asked. "And what kind of wolf could even be close to that height…?"

"Don't worry, the rumor it's probably false. There aren't any wolves in this area, and there's no way it could be that big!" Aika-san told her.

I frowned. The rumor could be false, but there could be some truth in it. All rumors originate from something. Besides, I don't want to believe it, but there is the possibility of it being a Shadow from the other side, since they've come to this side before. Even if that possibility is low, we should be careful and look into it.

I looked at my bowl again. There's no way I'm gonna finish this and still eat dinner at home. And if I don't, Mom might get mad.

"Can I get this wrapped to take it with me?" I asked.

"Yes, no problem." Aika-san took my bowl and went back to the kitchen.

"You barely ate anything…" Mai said.

"I'm gonna give the rest to Sis. I bet she had to eat Mom's _special_ curry again." I shuddered. Damn, I feel sorry for her.

"I asked Reiko this, but is it really that bad?"

"That's one of the questions to life you don't want answered. Seriously, don't get sick."

"Here you go Haru-kun." Aika-san gave me my food in a glass jar. I thanked her and paid for the food. We left the restaurant and headed home.

* * *

As soon as we got there, I went to Sis's room to check up on her and bring her the food, which I had put on a bowl and heated up.

I knocked on the door.

"Sis, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Yes, come in…" She answered from inside.

I opened the door to see her sitting on her futon under the sheets. She saw the bowl in my hand and looked at me with a devastated expression. It was like she had seen a monster.

"NO! Get it away from me!" She screamed.

Seems like I was right. Mom's curry strikes again…

"Don't worry, it's not curry." I told her.

"Oh." Drastic mood change… Are all women like this? "Then what is it?"

"I stopped at Aiya's before coming home. I brought you my leftovers since I knew you'd be like this."

"Brother… Thank you!" She almost cried from happiness.

I passed her the bowl and she started eating right away.

"This is… delicious! I'm… in heaven!" She said between mouthfuls.

"How've you been feeling?" I asked her as I moved towards a wall to lean on. "You sound better."

"Well, I feel better. Seems like the curry is working at least." She said as she kept eating. "Who did you go to Aiya's with?"

"Just Mei, since Ryu ditched us." Sis looked at me oddly. "Long story, I'll tell you latter."

"Did you go see Kaori-chan and Yui-chan?"

"Yep. Kaori seems fine. She'll get back her strength in a day or two. Yui, on the other hand is still sleeping."

"Well, she did use her Persona right after awakening, so it's not surprising."

I nodded.

"Any news from school?"

"No. Just that I had to explain to a lot of people that you were sick. They all send their regards. You're really popular, aren't you?"

"I'm the leader of the drama club, so of course I'm known around school. Plus, we're twins! How many schools have twins?"

"It's not a big deal… we're not even the kind of twins that look exactly the same."

"You say I'm popular, but what about you?"

"'About me' what?" I asked, confused.

"Come on, you're one of the star players for the basketball team! You're really popular, even if you don't like it."

I sighed. "Maybe I should quit basketball… I don't even like it that much."

"Ryu would kill you." She laughed.

"I know." I sighed again. I do that a lot.

"Anything else I should know?"

"I heard a rumor today…" I said.

"I thought you didn't paid attention to rumors…"

"I think this one is worth investigating." I told her.

"… Go on." She put the bowl aside and she listened attentively as I told her the rumor of the giant wolf seen in the outskirts of town.

"Wow… you think it's true?" She asked once I had finished.

"I don't know, but all rumors are born from something. I'm worried it might be related to the other side."

"That's right… Shadows have come to this world before."

I nodded.

"Well, we have summer break to look into this. I better heal ASAP so we can begin the investigation!"

"Look at you all fired up…" Where does she get that much energy?

"And you're never motivated by anything… Why's that?"

I kept silent. She's right… and I've known that for a long time. Half the things I do I don't like and the other half are just hobbies I do to kill time.

"I don't know." I finally answered. It's true. I simply don't know.

We both stayed silent. Things turned awkward until there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Sis asked.

"It's me, Mei. Can I come in?"

"Sure, come in!" Sis answered.

"Ah, Haru-kun, you're here." She said. "Yukiko-san was looking for you."

"Thanks. Then I'll leave you two to talk." I said and went to the door. "Rest well, Sis." I told her as I exited her room.

* * *

"So, what's up?" I asked Mei after Brother left my room to see Mom.

"Oh, nothing. I just came to see how you were doing." She said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yep! And with the food Brother brought me I'm feeling even better!" I said, happily. Seriously, eating Mom's curry was making me feel even worse than being sick… I guess it's true when they say 'the remedy is worse than the sickness'. "So… you two stopped at Aiya's?"

"We were originally planning on just eating at that meat place, but it was closed."

"Yeah, Brother told me the rumor of the giant wolf…"

"Then Ryu-san left because he thought he would have to pay for the food at the restaurant…"

"Oooh, so that's why!" Silly Ryu, Brother wouldn't have let him pay for all the food there. "And how was it?"

"It was my first time eating there. It's really good!" Mei said.

"What did you eat?" I asked.

"Eh…? J-Just a b-beef bowl. Hehe…" She laughed nervously.

"What are you-"

"It's nothing; I just ate a beef bowl." She said more calm now.

"Okay…" Never mind, not important.

"I should go… you need to rest if you want to recover soon, right?" She told me.

"Yeah, and once I am done, we'll investigate this giant wolf rumor!" I really want to investigate this! Sounds like fun!

"Good night, Reiko. Rest well."

"Good night Mei-chan." I told her as she left the room.

Ok… time to sleep some more.

* * *

The next day, I was sitting at my usual place in the garden, doing nothing, just looking at the blue sky. Sis was feeling better and went for a walk after lunch. She said she'd go see Kaori and Yui.

"There you are! Haru-kun!" I heard Yukari-san calling be from the outside corridor in front of me. "Can you come with me for a moment?"

I nodded and followed.

"With all that happened I completely forgot that Mei told me you wanted to read my book." She told me as we walked to the house. "I was looking for a copy but I couldn't find any. Then I remembered there was one on one of Minato's boxes." I followed her to her room. She told me to wait outside while she got it.

"Here you go!" She lent me a copy of her book. The cover was navy blue and the title of the book could be read in black letters '**_Thank You_**'. Weird title… but hey, I'm not complaining.

"Thank you, Yukari-san." I told her.

"Hey, no problem! Just let me know what you think once you're done."

"I will, thanks."

I went back to the garden to sit at my spot and read. Since I had nothing else to do today this will give me some time to kill.

I started reading and everything looked normal… except there was an odd dedication.

**_'To Elizabeth. The title of this book and the whole story is the only way I have to thank you. Nothing I do will ever be enough to pay you for what you have done for us. There are no words or actions that can express my gratitude, so I'll tell a story, your story. From me, and from all the former members of S.E.E.S, you have our deepest gratitude. Thank you, Elizabeth.'_**

_'S.E.E.S? Where have I heard that before…?' _ I thought. I dismissed that for the moment and continued reading.

The prologue told of a journey. One that every person must go through. It told us a tale of great sacrifice. Against all odds, a man stood in the face of death itself and beat it. Not for him, but for the sake of mankind.

The characters were really well written. They had very unique personalities and traits. They were mages that used an ancient art of demon summoning to fight for them.

I got so involved in the story that I didn't notice how much time had passed. Once I realized it, the sun was starting to set.

"This is…" I frowned. At first, and considering the dedication, I thought this would be a real story made fiction to attract more readers. But as I read, everything seemed familiar for some reason.

"These characters…" Yeah… I can't be wrong in this. This is no fiction.

I stood up from the grass and headed to house. Once there, I went to the living room. I think I heard Mei asking me where I was going, but I didn't listen. I did felt her following me, though. I got to the living room and saw my parents and Mei's parents talking and drinking tea. I decided to approach them.

"Haru? What's wrong?" Mom asked me.

"I don't want to read this book." I said, putting it on the table. "I want you all to tell me the story directly."

"W-What…?" Yukari san looked surprised.

"You are an incredibly good writer, Yukari-san, and thanks to that I realized that this book it's not fiction. It's reality!"

I heard Mei gasp from behind me.

"This is a story of something that happened to you all a long time ago. More specifically, to you, Minato-san." I said, looking at him. "Yukari-san, you wrote my parents characters so well that I could recognize most of their traits. Maybe his _'ability to summon multiple demons at once'_ made it a bit too obvious. I can't be wrong about this. You might have changed the names and the style, but this story is about Persona users…"

The four adults looked at each other. Minato-san sighed and looked at me. "You're very perceptive, Haru-kun." He told me. "Yes, Yukari wrote that book as a way to tell the world a story. Not mine, not ours, but the one of a certain woman…"

"Elizabeth…" Mei said.

"Yes. I changed some things so I wouldn't be easily recognized as a case involving Persona users, but I guess I couldn't fool you, Haru-kun." Yukari-san told me.

"Very well, we'll tell you the real story." Minato-san said.

"Let's wait until Reiko gets back… she need to hear this, too." Dad said.

"You need to hear the real story, too, Mei." Yukari-san told her daughter. "This involves a big part of your father's past."

She slowly nodded.

I don't know what the hell happened, since I didn't finished the book, but I know this is something big…

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, so It's gonna take some more time to get next chapter ready, but please bare with me. I'm very busy with university and don't have much time to write.

Were the changes in POVs too sudden? I'm not THAT happy with this chapter but it's better than what it used to be.

Next chapter the truth will come to light! I'll be honest with you all and tell you I'm still working on the details of this. I just hope I can do a decent job.

PS: Remember when I said two other characters would return? Well, I didn't mean Nanako and Dojima.


End file.
